Shades of Gray
by Neuropsych
Summary: A new Castle story - and Montgomery will be alive in mine
1. Chapter 1

**_Author's note: okay, since I didn't really get to write a whole story last time, I'm going to write one, now. I find that I enjoy writing Castle when they're not showing episodes (and really, even when they are) and it's probably to curb withdrawal symptoms. So here is a story of my own – although I find myself in the mood to write more hurt/comfort than a real mystery, but we'll see how things go as I write._**

**_Disclaimer: I'm not making any money on this story and only playing with the characters, so don't think I own Castle or the others! (Wouldn't it be nice, though?)_**

OOOOOOOOOO

Detective Kate Beckett had no trouble finding the crime scene. The street she turned off of was deserted with absolutely no traffic – odd considering the fact that it was almost noon. The street she turned onto, however, was bustling with several vehicles that were all using flashing lights to proclaim that they were there on official police business. She pulled in and parked next to Esposito's car, and flashed her badge, even though the officer who was guarding the crime scene knew her well enough that he would have let her in without it. She flashed him a smile, and saw Ryan and Esposito both walking toward her, holding the notebooks they normally carried when they were gathering evidence at a crime scene. _She_ carried one, too. She just didn't write things down very often until it came time to use her white board.

"What do we have?"

"Dead body in the parking lot."

"Cause of death?"

"We're not sure, yet."

She frowned.

"Why-"

"Sorry I'm late." They all turned and saw Castle had joined them, carrying two cups of coffee, one of which he immediately handed over to Beckett with an apologetic smile. "I got caught in traffic."

"We're behind anyway," Ryan told him – and Beckett. "ME isn't here, yet, so we can't move the body until we get her to sign off on it. We've taken pictures of the area and we've started talking to the people who found the vic."

"Where's Lanie?" Kate asked.

"Blew a tire on her way here," Esposito answered. "Spare was flat. There's a uni on the way to pick her up."

"We cordoned off the area." Ryan gestured toward the parking lot in question, which was surrounded by yellow police tape. "I'm going to finish up with the questioning and hopefully we'll be ahead when Lanie gets here…"

Beckett looked over at Esposito as they walked toward the parking lot.

"You didn't go rescue her?"

He grinned, not at all annoyed at being teased about dating the good doctor.

"She said it was bad enough she is imposing on me by staying with me, she didn't want me to come change her tire…"

Castle's eyebrows went up.

"She's _staying_ with you?"

Esposito nodded.

"The guy in the apartment above hers had a plumbing issue last night and her place is flooded. _And_ the place below hers, _and_ the ones under that. It's not pretty. She'll be staying with me until it gets fixed."

"Poor guy," Kate said, sarcastically, well aware that he wasn't minding the company a bit.

"Yup."

He wasn't.

"She could have come and stayed at _my_ place," Castle told him. "As of this morning I'm rattling around alone."

"Where's Alexis?"

"Ashley's family went on a cruise and he invited her along."

"And you _let_ her go?" Esposito asked, surprised.

"Where's Martha?" Beckett asked at the same time.

Castle smiled.

"_Mother_ went along on the cruise."

"Ah."

Beckett understood immediately, but Esposito didn't.

"Why?"

"Because that was the only way Alexis was going to go," the writer told him. "A cruise ship is a big place and it's easy for a couple of youngsters to 'get lost' long enough to get into mischief."

"You don't trust Alexis?" Beckett asked, surprised. This time, though, it was Esposito who answered.

"He doesn't trust _Ashley_."

Castle grinned and touched his nose.

"Got it in one, detective."

They were all grinning as they approached the body lying on the asphalt with the lower half of his body under a Ford sedan. The smiles faded, though. A dead man deserved a little less frivolity and a lot more professionalism.

Beckett leaned over him, trying to see if she could figure out a cause of death just from looking at him, but she didn't see anything.

"I don't see any blood," Castle said, looking as well. "He wasn't shot or stabbed."

"Unless the blood is _under_ him," Esposito corrected, crouching down beside Castle and trying to look under the car. It was in shadows, though, and he couldn't see anything helpful.

"He _looks_ like he's bled out," Beckett added, frowning. "Look how pale he is…"

The body was dressed in white, which could make someone look darker or lighter, but it didn't do either for the dead man, who _did_ look oddly pale now that Beckett mentioned it.

"He didn't do it _here_," Castle replied, "A body can't hide that much blood, right?"

"No."

Beckett crouched on the other side of Castle to look as well, but something drew her attention. She frowned and looked over at the car. The look drew Castle and Esposito's attention and they looked, too.

"What-"

"Shh!" Beckett raised a hand to stop the question. "Do you hear that?"

Both men froze, heads cocked, listening, but Esposito shook his head.

"I don't-"

"It's beeping," Castle interrupted.

"A bomb," Beckett realized, pushing herself upright. "_Move_!"

They didn't argue. Both of them started to stand, but even as they did it was too late. There was a flash of light, a loud boom and suddenly Castle found himself thrown backwards by a force he had no hope to resist. He was vaguely aware of something splattering him, and he tried to turn, but the ground rushed up and he was tossed abruptly into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Castle woke with a start, pain lacing through his head like the world's worst hangover. He gasped at the sudden sensation, and felt a hand on his chest almost immediately, keeping him from sitting up – like he had any intention of doing that.

"Easy…"

He opened his eyes and squinted against the pain that the light only made worse. Lanie was standing above him, her eyes concerned enough that he knew something was definitely not well with the world.

"Lanie?"

She smiled.

"Hey, Castle. You had us a little worried for a minute there…"

He looked around as well as he could without jarring his aching head. The room was pale green, and there was another bed beside the one he was in. A hospital bed.

"What happened?"

She frowned, running her hand along his cheek, maybe to check for fever?

"What do you remember?"

It was Castle's turn to frown as he tried to think of what had happened – and tried to figure out what he was doing in the hospital. It all came back in a rush.

"The body under the car… there was a bomb…?"

"Yeah. Someone booby-trapped it."

"Kate? Javier?"

She gestured to the bed next to his and he noticed for the first time that it wasn't empty. Esposito was sleeping in it, a bandage on his cheek and a couple of angry looking scrapes on his face, but otherwise apparently in one piece.

"Is he okay?" Castle asked, figuring she'd know before anyone else.

"A concussion and a broken arm. He'll be fine in a few days."

"And Beckett?"

Lanie's face became drawn with concern.

"Before you panic, she's going to be _fine_."

"What?" That wasn't the best way to keep him from panicking. "What's wrong with her?"

"She took the force of the explosion head on – you two had apparently turned away enough, but she has a flash burn from the initial force and it blinded her. Temporarily, the doctors are all telling us."

"She's _blind_?" He sat up, ignoring her hand, and ignored the stab of pain through his body at the motion. "Where is she?"

"Castle, she's going to be fine. You need to calm down or you'll upset her."

"Where is she?"

"In the room across the hall. Aside from the flash blindness she's healthier than you and Javier, believe it or not."

He looked down at himself, and realized that whoever had put him to bed had taken his clothes and replaced them with a set of blue hospital scrubs – which he supposed was better than a paper gown.

"Where are my clothes?"

"You _don't_ want them," Lanie told him. "Trust me."

The way she said it made him sure she was right, and he remembered the sensation of having something splatter him after the explosion. The idea that it had been pieces of the body made him cringe and feel more than a little sick. It must have shown in his expression, because her hand came up against his chest again, trying to force him to lie back once more.

"You need to calm down, Castle, before you hurt yourself. You hit your head pretty hard."

"She's really okay?"

"Yes. You can see for yourself in a little while. Just be still for a bit until we get a doctor in here to check and make sure you didn't take any permanent damage…"

He allowed her to push him into the pillows, and he had to admit it felt better than sitting up – by a long shot. Now that he wasn't sitting up, he could feel every ache, and there were a lot of them.

"How bad was it?" he asked, closing his eyes against the way the room was tilting just a little.

"Crime scene guys are saying that whoever set the bomb was an amateur," Lanie told him. "Lucky thing."

"Why?"

"Because if he'd known how to blow the _entire_ car, it would have been a lot worse."

The way her voice broke on that last part told him just how _much_ worse it would have been and he opened his eyes and reached for her hand at the same time. How callous of him, he chided himself, as he sat up again, this time to pull her into his arms and hold her as she started to silently sob into his shoulder. Her friend blinded – _temporarily_, he told himself – by the same bomb-setting bastard that could have killed her boyfriend, and all he was doing was whining to himself about how bad his head hurt. Stupid, selfish writer, he grumbled into his own head as he murmured reassurances in her ear and held her until she sniffed and pulled away, wiping her eyes.

"He'll be okay, Lanie," Castle told her, squeezing her hand once more before releasing it.

She gave him a weak smile and nodded.

"I know. But it's still…" she trailed off.

It was his turn to nod, and he tried to focus his aching head enough to think of something that would change the mood – if it was possible.

"Any idea who the dead guy was?"

"Funny you should ask," she said, not sounding amused at all. "His name was Fredrick Henderson. Aged 58, died of a heart attack."

Castle frowned.

"What was he doing under the car?"

"Died of a heart attack – _3 weeks ago_," Lanie added, ignoring his question. "Ryan ran the prints twice just to make sure there wasn't any mistake."

"There must have been," Castle said. "That's not possible…"

"But that's who he is," She told him. "Which should make it that much easier to figure out who is behind this, because they obviously expected the body to be incinerated in the explosion, and we'll be able to trace back where it came from."

"And who took him."

"Right." She smiled again, as if aware of what he was trying to do – which she probably was – and touched his arm. "I'm going to get the doctor so she can make sure you're not hurt worse than they thought. I'll be right back."

Before she could go, though, he caught her hand once more, his expression serious.

"Hey, Lanie… they're sure Esposito's going to be okay?"

The guy hadn't moved the entire time they'd been talking, after all. She smiled, though, and that was more reassuring than anything else she could have said.

"I looked at his chart – _and_ Kate's. They're going to be sore, but they'll be heal. Just like you."

"Okay."

He let her go and leaned back into the pillows and closed his eyes. He'd wait and talk to the doctor, but his next stop was going to be the room across the hall – whether they liked it or not.


	3. Chapter 3

He dozed off while waiting for Lanie to return with the doctor, but the sound of the door opening and a soft discussion comprising of two different female voices was all it took to bring him awake again. He opened his eyes and decided that the woman Lanie accompanied was no older than his daughter. There was no way she was old enough to be a real doctor. She smiled when Castle opened his eyes, and picked up his chart on her way over to his bedside. Lanie sat on the edge of Esposito's bed, reaching for his hand even though he still hadn't woken.

"It's good to see you awake, Mr. Castle," the young woman told him. "I'm Doctor Blaine. How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

She didn't have a child's _voice_, though, he noticed. It was soft and sultry – and if _Alexis_ ever sounded like that he knew she'd break a million hearts without even intending to.

"I'm going to run some tests really quick, just to make sure – if you don't mind?"

"Are you Detective Beckett's doctor, too?"

"Yes." She pulled her stethoscope from her neck and put it in her ears. "I'm going to listen to your heart and lungs."

"How is she?"

"She'll be fine. This might be cold…" Blaine pulled the neck of his shirt down a little and placed the end of the instrument against his skin. "Take a deep breath, please."

"Is she awake?"

"She was a little while ago. Your Captain Montgomery was talking to her. Take a deep breath, please."

"Can I see her?"

Blaine sighed, a little annoyed at his single-mindedness, but amicable nonetheless.

"When I'm done with my tests and make sure you won't fall over you can go see her for a minute – if she's awake."

Lanie smiled at him, and Castle took the deep breath the doctor requested and was more cooperative during the rest of her tests – which included several questions about his head and how much it hurt. Caste decided that if she found a reason to keep him in bed she wouldn't let him up to see Beckett, so he wasn't completely honest about how much pain he was in. Finally, she nodded – more to herself than to him – and made a few notes on his chart

"It looks like you were lucky," she told him. "A few cuts and bruises – and a mild concussion – but it could have been a lot worse."

He looked over at Lanie and gave her a casual wink and reassuring smile.

"So I've been told. Can I get up now?"

"I want to keep you overnight for observation," Blaine told him. "You can't be too careful with a concussion."

"Fine. Can I get up?"

There was a barely concealed exasperated sigh and she nodded.

"Yes." He started to toss the blanket off, but she held her hand up, stopping him. "Don't rush in and startle her, okay? She's tense enough as it is."

"I'll be careful."

Like he'd do anything to hurt Kate? Castle waited until both women left and then pushed the blankets back and carefully, painfully, got out of his bed. He clutched the railing of Esposito's bed when the room started to spin around him, but held on doggedly until it stopped. Only then did he let go and head for the door.

OOOOOOOOOOO

The door to her room opened silently and Castle peeked in to see if there was anyone else in the room. As much as he wanted to see her, he knew others would, too, and he didn't want to interfere with that. She was alone, though, and tucked into a bed similar to the one he'd just escaped from. He walked over, silent on bare feet, and looked down at her. Her face was almost as pale as the bandage that had been wrapped completely around her head and was covering her eyes, and there were scratches along her jaw and above her right eye that had been slathered with some kind of translucent gel – presumably an antibiotic.

"Castle?"

If he'd been wearing socks she'd have startled him right out of them.

"Yeah. Hi."

She held her hand out and he took it automatically, reaching for a chair to sit in because his head was pounding all of the sudden and he knew he needed to get off his feet. She turned her head toward him, and he had no trouble remembering what her gaze was like without the bandage.

"How are you doing? They said you were knocked out…"

He gave her a faltering smile that she couldn't see, and held her hand with both of his, needing the contact with her to reassure himself that she really was still there. Now he understood how easy it had been for Lanie to break down at how close they'd come to losing her, and he felt the sting of tears in his eyes and felt a lump close his throat, making it hard to breathe, much less answer her. He dropped his head onto the bed beside her, trying to get himself under control before she decided that he knew something about her condition that she hadn't been told and started to worry.

Instead, he felt her other hand come to rest on the top of his head, and she stroked his hair, soothing him.

"It's only temporary," she murmured.

He nodded, but couldn't look at her.

"I know."

"It doesn't hurt."

Castle nodded again and squeezed her hands even harder, but he couldn't speak and he gave up trying to. Luckily, she understood, and she was willing to simply be with him just then, reassuring herself that he was really okay while at the same time allowing him to confirm that she was doing a lot better than he'd expected.

How long they stayed like that, Castle didn't know. He had recovered a large amount of his composure but his head was pounding, so it was easier for him to keep it where it was, cushioned by the soft mattress and blankets that were tucked around her. She had stopped stroking his hair but was still resting her hand on his head, casually, when he felt someone touch his shoulder. He looked up and saw that Lanie had joined them.

"You guys okay?"

"Yeah," Beckett replied.

"Yes," Castle echoed, wincing at the headache he was getting. He'd need some aspirin or something before the doctor had a chance to check him out again.

"They want to keep all of you overnight," she said. "I'm going to run by Javier's and get him some things, Ryan's on his way from the precinct and wants to know if you guys want him to bring you anything."

"I'd rather you were the one rummaging through my underwear drawer," Kate replied, eliciting a smile from both Lanie and Castle. "Would you mind?"

"Not at all. I was going to offer. Castle?"

"You want to rummage through my underwear?" he asked, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"No. Ryan's going to go to your place. He can use his badge to get let in. I already have a key to Kate's apartment."

"Tell him I need pajamas. And some soap that won't smell like the hospital. And some-"

"I'll tell him to grab whatever he thinks you'll need," Lanie interrupted. "You should go lie down for a while. You're pale as the sheets…"

He shook his head, his hands tightening automatically on Beckett's hand.

"I'll be fine here for now."


	4. Chapter 4

It took the medical staff a little longer than it normally would have to figure out that Castle wasn't as healthy as he was pretending to be. The main reason for that was because he was famous and the hospital policy for celebrities was to give them as much privacy as possible. The other reason was that he was with Beckett and they were trying to give her as much privacy as they could, since they all understood how traumatizing it could be to be blinded – even if it _was_ only temporary – and they figured he was giving her the support that they couldn't. Finally, though, the doctor came in to check in with Beckett and noticed that Castle was an unhealthy pallor and immediately ordered him back to his bed to get some rest.

"I'm _fine_," he assured the doctor, annoyed at being treated like an errant child and tightening his grip on Beckett's hand.

"You're _not_," Blaine told him, firmly. Despite her youthful looks, she was experienced and confident of her abilities, and more importantly not cowed by anyone. "You need to get some rest and give your body a chance to heal."

"I can rest in here."

"In a _bed_, Mr. Castle, not in a chair."

"I-"

"Castle." Beckett couldn't see either of them but there was nothing wrong with her ears and she could hear the frustration in the doctor's voice – and the exhaustion in Castle's. "Go get some sleep…"

"But-"

"You're not going to do me any good if you fall on your face later…"

In the silence that fell after that statement, she squeezed his hand lightly to let him know that she wasn't sending him away for any other reason than what she was telling him, and she heard a sigh and felt him let her go.

"Fine. But I'll be back later to check on you."

She heard him stand up and couldn't miss the slight intake of breath that clearly told her the motion hurt. A minute later he was gone.

"He really _does_ need the rest," Doctor Blaine told her. "I wasn't trying to –"

"It's okay," Beckett interrupted, waving a hand dismissively. "He can get focused on something to the point of obsessive sometimes. It's good that you said something; _I_ never would have noticed."

She couldn't hide the bitterness in her voice at that last part, and felt the doctor's hand squeeze her wrist for just a moment.

"It's _temporary_, Detective," she reassured. "And aside from the flash burn, you're healthy enough to go home in the morning – provided nothing changes overnight."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Try to get some rest, okay?"

Beckett nodded and heard the door close a moment later. She was alone. In the dark.

But only for a moment, as it turned out. Less than a minute after the doctor left, there was a knock on the door and a moment later it opened.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Esposito was awake when Castle returned to the room. He looked over at the writer as he walked to the bed.

"You look like crap, Castle."

"Yeah, that's what they tell me. You don't look that great, either, you know?"

Esposito shrugged, wincing as the motion moved his injured arm.

"How's Beckett?"

"You heard she was blinded?"

"Yeah. Temporary, though, right?"

"So they say."

"How's she handling it?"

"Better than _he_ is," came a response. Not from Castle, though. Both men turned and saw that Lanie had joined them, silently opening the door while they'd been talking. She was holding a bag that Castle recognized as one of his. She walked over to him, handing him the bag and frowning when she saw just how pale he looked. "You better get in bed, Castle. Ryan brought you some pajamas, I think."

"Thanks…"

He vanished into the bathroom to change, and Lanie sat on the edge of Esposito's bed, taking his hand.

"Hey."

"Hi. Where's Kevin?"

"Visiting Kate."

"Did he find out anything about the bomber?"

"Yes. And you can hear all about it _tomorrow_, once they discharge you into my care."

He was smart enough to know not to argue with her. Besides, he'd get Ryan alone later after she'd left and would get all the information he needed then. Instead, he squeezed her hand, relaxing into his pillows.

"Did you bring me some pajamas?"

She grinned.

"Considering I know for a fact that you don't wear pajamas how do you suggest I do that?"

"_I heard that_," Castle told them through the door.

Esposito groaned and blushed, much to Lanie's amusement.

"Keep laughing," he told her, his eyes cheerful. "I'm sure he'd love to know what _you_ sleep in…"

She slapped his shoulder, and leaned over and kissed him.

"I'm going to go visit Kate. I'll be back later."

"Okay."

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Ryan wasn't the only one in the room with Beckett. Montgomery arrived right behind him, planning on checking on all three of them before he reported to his own superiors. He was seated on the edge of her bed, while Ryan had taken the chair recently vacated by Castle. The detective had barely had a chance to tell Beckett that Lanie had given him the bag of items she'd collected for her at her apartment – but he couldn't tell her what was in it, because he was loathe to snoop through it. Some things he just didn't want to know!

Montgomery was filling Beckett in on what little they had so far about the bomb, and at the same time reassuring himself that she was doing okay all things considered. He'd already had a lengthy conversation with the ridiculously young doctor in charge of taking care of her, Esposito and Castle and had been impressed with her knowledge and maturity. They probably were in the best of hands, he'd been forced to admit.

"Have you seen Castle and Esposito yet?" Beckett asked.

"Not yet. It's my next stop, though," Montgomery told her. "We'll have to leave you alone so you can change anyway."

Beckett nodded. She was well aware that she might need some help but figuring Lanie might be a better choice for that.

"They're stuck here for the night, too."

"So I was informed," Montgomery said. "Just take it easy tonight, Beckett. We'll get the rest sorted in the morning."

"Yes, sir."

"Need me to bring you anything?"

She shook her head, knowing that he was feeling helpless and understanding completely.

"Nah. I'm good. Tell Esposito I said hi."

"I will."


	5. Chapter 5

It turned out to be a quiet night for the three of them. This was mainly because Doctor Blaine, deciding that they all needed sleep far more than they needed people in and out talking to them and giving them progress reports on something that they couldn't do anything about, had opted to give all three of her patients pain medication that was guaranteed to put them to sleep for at least eight hour. Once they were all asleep, she'd sent all the visitors home, advising them that there was nothing to do but watch them sleep and if anything changed she would call. Her staff made hourly checks on everyone, but no emergencies came up overnight – and none were expected. When morning came and people started waking up, they would feel much better for the sleep that they'd managed to get – whether they wanted that sleep or not.

The sleeping agent worked especially well on Castle, who needed the rest far more than he ever would have admitted – especially when the alternative to sleeping was to be with Beckett. By the time he opened his eyes the next morning, Esposito was awake, dressed, and eating breakfast with Lanie, who had perched on the edge of his bed. Both of them looked over when Castle stretched and sat up, wincing a little but looking far better than he had the day before.

"Good morning, Sunshine," Lanie told him, cheerfully.

Castle managed to grumble something as he staggered out of the bed and headed for the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Esposito smiled.

"I think he needs his coffee."

"That's a problem since I drank it."

"_I heard that!"_ came a grumbly voice from the other side of the door, and Lanie stood up, still smiling.

"I'll go get him some."

"You don't have to."

"_Yes she does!" _

Lanie chuckled. That time the voice hadn't been so grumpy and certainly sounded more amused than anything else.

"It's only fair."

She left the room and Esposito went back to his meal. Several minutes later Castle came back out, dressed now in the clothes Ryan had brought him and looking more awake than he had.

"How are you feeling?" Esposito asked. "Lanie said you looked like crap when they finally told you to go to bed."

"Not bad," he admitted, buttoning the shirt he was putting on. "Have you been to see Beckett, yet?"

Esposito shook his head.

"They're getting her ready to be released, and I wanted to stay out of the way in case there was something I didn't want to see. Lanie said she was awake and feeling okay. It's got to be rough, though."

Castle nodded, sitting on the edge of his bed for lack of anywhere else to sit.

"For one of my books I did some research on being blind – I wanted to make the killer the blind neighbor and wanted to make sure it was feasible. I tried wearing one of those eye covers - you know, the kind you get on an overnight flight? It was the hardest thing I've ever done; I kept peeking, got dizzy, and finally just had to stop. I made it about 9 hours."

"Beckett's tough, Bro," Esposito told him, not looking quite as certain as he was probably trying to sound. "She'll be okay – and it's only temporary, they said."

"_Nine hours_," Castle repeated. "I was ready for a nervous breakdown."

"Kate won't have that problem," Lanie told them from the doorway, where she had entered the room while they were talking – unnoticed by either of them.

"No?"

"No." The ME walked over and handed Castle the paper cup she was holding. One that smelled pretty good considering it was probably from a machine. "Because you're going to watch her and make sure she doesn't."

"Right." He didn't argue with that, but he knew Beckett was going to. "And _you're_ going to convince her to come home with me?"

"No. She needs to be someplace that she knows, and that means she needs to be at _her_ place so she's not bumping into walls and tripping over furniture."

"You're going to convince her to take me home with her?"

Lanie smiled.

"I already _did_."

"You did?"

"Yup. And it took some fast talking, too."

"I bet."

Esposito snorted his amusement.

"Let me guess. You told her it was Castle or _Ryan_…"

Lanie gave him a look that told him she didn't appreciate the help, and then shrugged and turned her attention back to Castle.

"Let's just say I made a bunch of good arguments about why it should be _you_ and not someone else – the biggest being it would keep _you_ out of trouble while your head healed."

"Oh."

"I also told her that you would want to keep up with what was going on as far as the investigation into the bomber and that would help keep her in on it as well – no matter what Captain Montgomery says about her not being able to help due to her condition."

Esposito smiled at that. That really _was_ the way to go, since he knew Beckett would want to be in on as much as she was allowed. If Castle was allowed – and only the mayor could keep him away – then Beckett knew she would hear everything that was going on.

"Good call."

"Yeah." Lanie scowled at Castle. "But she still isn't really happy at the thought of a baby-sitter, so don't be a turd about it."

"I won't."

He even _sounded_ sincere, and Lanie decided that he was.

"Good."

"Can I see her?"

"Not yet. They're doing final tests on her eyes and her head to make sure it's safe to release her. They're going to be doing the same thing with you and Javier, so you should get some breakfast in you so your blood pressure isn't low when they run their tests. Otherwise, they'll want to keep you here another day."

Castle scowled at that.

"No way."

Lanie smiled.

"I'll let the nurse know you're awake and hungry."

"Thanks."

She nodded and left, and the writer looked over at Esposito.

"You're a lucky guy. You know that, right?"

The detective nodded.

"I tell myself every time I see her."

OOOOOOOOOOO

After passing the message to the nursing staff, Lanie stopped in to see Beckett. The detective was dressed and sitting up in her bed. Her head turned as soon as she heard the door open and Lanie spoke up right away.

"It's me, Kate."

Beckett nodded her thanks for the quick info.

"Did you talk to Castle?"

"Yeah."

"How does he look?"

"Better than he did yesterday. I'm worried, though…"

"Why?"

"Because he's _not_ as healthy as he thinks he is, and he's going to want to jump in on this investigation head first – you know how he is…"

"Yeah."

"Without someone to keep him reined in, he'll probably try to go looking for the guy on his own or something equally foolish…"

Beckett cocked her head.

"What are you getting at, Lanie?"

"I was just thinking that with his mom and daughter out of town, you might keep an eye on him."

"And _how_ am I supposed to do that?" Kate asked, a slight edge to her voice and Lanie winced at the wrong turn of phrase.

"Take him home with you?"

"Are you _nuts_?"

"Don't say no right away, Kate," she said. "You can keep him busy 'taking care of you' and that will keep him from getting hurt doing something dumb."

"I don't _need_ him to take care of me."

"_He_ doesn't need to know that."

She didn't need to see Beckett's eyes to know she was scowling. So she played her final card.

"If he's with _you_, you can use his pull with the mayor to keep appraised of what's going on with the investigation. Even if Captain Montgomery tries to keep _you_ out of the loop, he wouldn't be able to keep Castle out – and you know he'll tell you anything you ask."

There was a long moment of silence while she apparently considered that, and then Beckett nodded.

"That's a good point, isn't it?"

"I'm not just a pretty face, you know…"

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay. He can be my… baby-sitter…."

Lanie smiled, slyly.

"I'll let him know."


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's note: Okay, this is one of those transitional chapters that might be boring. Sorry!_

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

The medical staff checked Castle thoroughly before pronouncing him fit to leave their care. True, he wasn't a hundred percent, but they didn't require that. However, once they learned that he was going to be the one watching Detective Beckett, they did pull him aside and give him a crash course in how best to help her and how to change the bandages on her eyes. When he mumbled that she might not let him do that for her, Doctor Blaine simply told him to tell Beckett that the choices were Castle does it or she comes back to the hospital to have it done.

"Keep an eye on her," Blaine told him.

"I will."

She nodded, and left, and Castle went to Beckett's room, more than ready to get out of the hospital and hoping that she was, too.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

There was a brief argument about the wheelchairs. Hospital policy stated that patients left in wheelchairs – probably to keep them from tripping over the floor mat on the way out the door and breaking something that had just been put back together – but Beckett wasn't fond of the idea of being wheeled anywhere when there was absolutely nothing wrong with her feet or legs. Esposito wasn't any happier with the idea, and when he found that they intended for him to ride one out, Castle balked at the idea as well. Lanie solved the problem before it could get out of hand. She summarily ordered Esposito into one chair – which she was going to push out – and then suggested to Beckett that she allow Castle to wheel her out in a chair so that she didn't knock anything over and make the doctors think twice about releasing her into his care.

Beckett wasn't happy with the solution, but decided it was better than the alternative that Lanie had discussed. She plopped down into the chair gracelessly, and handed Ryan her bag to carry out to Castle's car for her. Wisely, Castle didn't say anything, either. He exchanged a look with Lanie, handed _his_ bag to Ryan as well and took hold of the handles on the chair and headed for the door.

"You sure you're going to be okay?" Ryan asked them as he put the bags into the trunk of the car a few minutes later. He wasn't just talking to Beckett and Castle, though; he was looking at all of them. Lanie arched an eyebrow at him.

"I'm a doctor. You think I can't handle convalescing a man with a broken arm?"

Ryan shook his head quickly.

"No… I think you can… I meant Castle…"

Castle's lips quirked in a slight smile that he was clearly trying to hide.

"We'll be fine."

"Kate?" Lanie asked, thinking of something that she realized she probably should have thought of before just then. "Tell me you have food in your house?"

Beckett hesitated, but Castle grinned, putting his hand on her shoulder to let her know exactly where he was so he could help her out of the chair and into his car.

"We can stop at a store on our way."

Kate nodded her agreement. Not that she wanted to go shopping in her condition, but she was definitely ready to leave the hospital, and even tired, really, of having people do things for her. She and Castle could go grocery shopping. It wasn't like they were in a hurry or anything.

"Yeah. We'll be fine."

"If you need anything, call," Lanie told them.

"We will," Castle assured her.

He tried to help Beckett into the car without actually helping her since he knew how he'd feel if he was the one who wasn't able to see what he was doing. He put his hand right at the top of the door to keep her from bashing her head on the metal, but her hair only grazed against his palm, and she settled in easily and reached automatically for the seatbelt. Despite what every flight attendant might think, any moron could buckle a seatbelt, and Beckett had no trouble doing it blind. He smiled at Lanie and the guys from over the car, and watched as Esposito got into Lanie's car. The ME gave Castle a final look that plainly told him to call if he needed her, but he was sure that they'd be okay. He made sure Beckett didn't have any parts blocking the door and closed it, and then went around to the driver's side and got in.

"Are you sure you feel up to shopping?" he asked as he started the car. "We could get you situated and then you could make me a list…"

"Is my hair messy?" she asked, a slight edge to her voice.

"You look beautiful."

She didn't smile like he hoped she would, but when she spoke next the edge was gone from her voice.

"Then let's go grocery shopping."

"Okay."

OOOOOOOOOOO

Grocery shopping wasn't too bad. Castle pushed the cart, and Beckett walked beside him, one hand slipped into his belt so she could stay beside him and keep pace with him easier. She told him what she wanted, quizzed him on his ability to cook various foods – most of which he failed, but she told him she'd advise from the sidelines if he tried – and they walked the aisles with something that was fairly close to domestic complacency. People stared – Beckett's bandages were hard to miss, after all – but Castle was used to being stared at, and he didn't miss a beat when talking to Beckett and describing everything that she wasn't able to see for herself. Blissfully unaware of any looks, by the time they were loading the car with the newly purchased groceries Beckett had to admit that she had had a pretty good time all things considered.

She was still relatively cheerful when they entered her apartment, and Castle told her he'd put the groceries away if she wanted to go sit down and take a break.

"How's your head?" she asked him, opting to sit at a bar stool in her kitchen instead of leaving him alone.

"It's fine."

"Are you lying to me?"

She couldn't see if he'd been wincing or anything as they'd shopped so she'd been forced to listen for any kind of hitch in his breathing or voice that might indicate a headache.

"Only a little."

"What kind of pain killers did they give you?"

"Just some over the counter stuff. I'll be fine," he assured her. "Are you hungry? Want some lunch?"

She shook her head.

"Not yet." She could hear him putting things into the fridge. "You know… you don't have to stay with me all day. It's not like I'm going to do something dumb and burn the place down or anything…"

There was a moment of silence and she knew he was looking at her, uncertainly. She'd the look many times, and had it memorized.

"Are you kicking me out?"

She shook her head with a smile.

"No. I just don't want you to think you're anchored here if you have other things that are more important to do…"

"Nothing's more important right now, Kate," he told her, and she could hear the sincerity in his voice, and felt more than a little gooey inside. She felt him touch her hand, briefly, and then heard him move back over to the fridge. "Besides, with Alexis and mother gone, it'd be lonely at home. You're doing me a favor."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well in that case… I wouldn't mind a sandwich."

"Here or in the living room?"

"Living room."

"Go get comfortable. I'll bring it to you as soon as it's ready."

She stood up and gave him a sketchy salute that was spoiled by the fact that she wasn't completely facing him.

"Yes, sir."

She turned and slowly made her way into the living room, and knew by the silence behind her that he was watching her the entire way.


	7. Chapter 7

Castle watched her long enough to make sure that she was seated comfortably on the couch and was impressed that she'd only bumped into the coffee table once - not hard enough to bark her shin on it - and the edge of the couch once. He was sure if it had been him that he'd have been sent sprawling at least twice as many times, and with far less grace. Once she was seated, he looked around and found a tray that she almost certainly used for eating in bed, and he put that aside for later use before starting to prepare lunch.

The menu was, by necessity, simple. Sandwiches with the fixings they'd just purchased - he cut hers in half to make it a bit easier - some chips and cut up cantaloupe. He arranged them on the tray with a bottle (plastic) of iced tea and a bottle of water for himself to go with his lunch, and then headed into the living room.

"Lunch is served," he told her, cheerfully, setting the tray across her lap before she could try to get up to eat in the kitchen.

"I could have come to you."

"You _could_ have, but then I would have had to sit on a stiff chair instead of a soft sofa…" he sat down beside her and removed his lunch from the tray. "There's a sandwich, chips and fruit and a bottle of tea. Is that okay?"

She nodded, putting her hand down on the tray - right onto her sandwich - and then felt around on the plate until she had touched everything and knew where it was.

"Thanks, Castle."

"You're welcome." he held out a wet washcloth and touched her hand with it. "I figured you could do the cantaloupe with your fingers - I'm going to - but if it gets messy, here's a towel to wipe them."

"Smart."

"I'm not just another pretty face, you know…"

She chuckled and took a careful bite of her sandwich, chewing slowly.

"How did you know what to put on it?" she asked him, finally. "What if I didn't like mayo?"

"I figured it wouldn't have been in your fridge if you didn't like it."

"You should be a detective."

"I tell myself that every day."

Another chuckle and the two of them were quiet while they worked their way through the meal. It didn't take long; they were both hungry and sandwiches are definitely a comfort food. Kate was careful and managed to make her way through the meal without any mishaps and she decided that that was more Castle's careful planning than any particular talent on her side. When she was done, she felt him lift the tray away and stand up.

"Want another sandwich?"

"No. Thanks."

"Drink?"

"No."

"I'll be right back."

She nodded and he carried the tray back into the kitchen. He hadn't made much of a mess and there was minimal cleanup, so he decided it could wait until later. He downed a couple of aspirin to fight the slight headache he was getting and looked over at her.

"Kate? How are you feeling? Need a pain pill?"

The pharmacy in the hospital had filled her prescription for the pain killers that Blaine had decided she'd probably need, and Castle had read the label to make sure he knew everything there was to know about it. It would probably make her sleepy and was better when taken with food. Aside from that, there wasn't much to know.

"Please?"

He got her one, checked and saw that she had plenty of tea to wash it down and brought it over and handed it to her. After downing it, Beckett leaned back against the couch and sighed.

"Well… we got through lunch without me wearing it - or breaking anything."

There was a quality in her voice that he didn't quite recognize. Almost bitter, but not quite, and almost frustrated, but not quite that, either. Castle sat down beside her, just shy of touching her, studying her face. It was a lot harder to read her when he couldn't see her eyes, he realized.

"You're amazing, Kate."

She snorted.

"Because I managed to eat without making a mess? _Whoopie_."

He had no problem recognizing the sarcasm, and he reached out to touch her knee since her hands were in her lap.

"Because you're handling this so much better than I would be…"

"I don't have a choice, Castle," she told him. "Crying won't help. Screaming won't, either - or I'd try it, believe me."

"I'd be terrified," he said, honestly. "You're so much braver than I am."

She put her hand on his, turning toward him even though he knew she couldn't see him, and was quiet for a long moment before speaking again.

"Not as brave as you think," she admitted. "Just hiding it better, maybe…"

Castle squeezed her hand.

"I'm here for you. Don't ever doubt it."

That earned him a smile, and she brought his hand up to her cheek, holding it there for a moment before bringing it back down to her knee. They were silent, again, and this time there was a familiar tension in the air around them. Castle finally cleared his throat.

"The um, bottle said that the painkiller might make you sleepy. Do you want me to move so you can have the couch?"

She shook her head.

"I really don't want to be alone right now. Keep me company?"

"Sure." he looked around, and noticed the bookcase against the wall - with a gratifying number of his own titles there. "I could read to you," he offered. "I used to do it for Alexis when she wasn't feeling well…"

Beckett nodded, and let go of his hand.

"It would be like a book on CD, eh?" she said. "Except having the author of the book sitting right there beside you probably cuts out the background noise from crummy speakers."

He got up and went over to the bookcase.

"Any preference?"

"Not one about me."

Castle chuckled and pulled one of his earlier works down and brought it over and sat back down. He seated himself toward one end of the couch and put the book on the arm, leaving her plenty of room to fall asleep, and made sure that there were a couple of cushions within her touch. He was a little surprised when she cuddled up beside him with her feet tucked up under her and her cheek against his shoulder, but figured that she probably needed the contact. He knew he would. Greatly daring, and hoping she wouldn't hit him or pull away, he put his free arm around her shoulder and pulled her up against his side so she would be more comfortable. Instead of pulling away she shifted a little and settled in a spot, one hand caught between them, the other resting lightly on his thigh. His free hand was on her shoulder, and he kept it there, figuring she'd let him know if she wanted him to move it. When she didn't say anything, he used his other hand and opened the book and started reading from the beginning - even though there was a dog-eared page marking a spot somewhere in the middle of the book.

Beckett probably would have been a bit more tense at the position they were in - not intimate, but far closer than they were normally - but she was pretty sure the painkiller was kicking in a bit and relaxing her enough to allow her to enjoy it. The first time she'd read that book there was no way she'd ever have dreamed that one day the author would be in her living room, sitting with her on the couch and holding her so tenderly while he read it to her. She smiled, knowing exactly what her younger self would have thought of this situation, and relaxed even further against him, allowing her head to drop to his leg beside her hand and stretching out. She was pretty sure she was going to fall asleep and there was no reason not to be comfortable. She felt him shift, but he never missed a sentence as he pulled the throw blanket that had been on the back of the sofa down and draped it over her before resting his hand once more on her shoulder, this time lazily caressing her shoulder and arm as he continued to read to her.

His voice was soothing, and the medication was definitely making her headache go away, but she stayed awake a lot longer than she'd thought she would, enjoying the fact that she was allowing herself to be held, and secretly loving that it was him holding her. Eventually she drifted off, and his voice followed her, reminding her that she wasn't alone and wouldn't be.


	8. Chapter 8

There are, of course, many drawbacks to being blinded – even temporarily. Not being able to see where you're going, who you're talking to or any of the things that you're so accustomed to day by day that it's taken for granted by pretty much everyone was by far the biggest drawback. That was bad enough, but Beckett had found out in the hospital that the worst part was waking up. There was a moment of disorientation when she tried to open her eyes and found that she was still completely in the dark. It created an even longer moment of panic and the fear that it wasn't really going to be temporary – that Blaine was wrong and she would wake up every morning with that jolt of panic before realizing that yes, her eyes really were open.

When she woke up on her couch, however, the first thing she realized – before she even tried to open her eyes automatically and had that moment of panic when she didn't see anything – was that she wasn't alone. She wasn't used to waking up with her head in someone's lap, and she knew she hadn't fallen asleep holding his hand against her belly like she was, but these were things she noticed before she was even fully awake. Castle was still with her; in the same place he'd been when she'd dozed off. Beckett tightened her grip on his hand, using that as an anchor against the panic that she was expecting, but never felt.

"Are you awake?" Castle asked her softly. He'd felt her squeeze her hand, but that didn't really mean anything. She'd shifted a couple times while sleeping; once to cuddle a little closer to him, and once to take his hand and basically wrap his arm around her. He hoped that she realized when she woke that she was the one who was holding him, because his hand was nestled against her stomach, right under her breasts. A place he'd never dared to venture on his own!

"Mmmhmmm…" She didn't move, though. Instead, she sighed and turned her head a little. "What time is it?"

"About 8PM."

"Really?"

She hadn't planned on sleeping that long.

"Yeah. How are you feeling?"

"I don't know… _comfortable_…"

Castle smiled. That was about how he felt, too.

"Lanie called to check on you."

"What did you tell her?"

"That you had a healthy lunch and that you were asleep. She said she'll come by tomorrow, but if you need her call."

"Okay."

She stretched and realized she was holding his hand against her belly. While he didn't seem to mind, it couldn't be comfortable for him to have been in the same position for so many hours and reluctantly, she sat up and let go of his hand – although she did put her hand lightly on his leg so she didn't lose the contact completely.

"How's your head?" he asked her.

"Not too bad. How about yours?"

"I'm okay. Be right back."

She heard and felt him get up and knew from the direction he was going that he was headed for the bathroom. She'd heard the stories about people who lost one sense adjusting by using the others more thoroughly, but now she truly understood what those stories meant. A minute later he was back.

"Are you hungry? Need anything?"

"I need a _shower_."

"You can't get your bandages wet," he reminded her. "Want a _sponge bath_?"

She grinned. There was no way she could miss the amusement in his voice when he asked, and she knew he'd been teasing her – which felt normal. And very good.

"You _wish_."

"It would be therapeutic…"

"For you or for me?"

He snorted, amused, and she stood up, running her hand along the edge of the sofa for balance and to make sure she didn't trip over anything. When he realized where she was heading he spoke up.

"I made sure everything in the bathroom is easy to get to," he told her. "Try not to fall in, though, okay? I'm not sure that fishing you out of the toilet is in my current job description…"

Again she smiled. He was making this as easy on her as he could, and she loved him for it.

"Did you put the seat down?"

"Of course."

"Then I think I'll be okay."

She made her way across the room and she knew he was watching her, but she appreciated that he didn't try to help her – waiting instead for her to decide if she needed his help or not and allowing her the chance to be as independent as she could be. She was in the bathroom much longer than he was, but he didn't come pounding on the door, and she found that he had made sure that things were where she could easily get hold of them. Considerate of him.

When she did come out, he spoke up, the location of his voice telling her that he was back on the sofa.

"Ryan called, too."

"Does he have any information on the bomb – or the bomber?" she asked as she inched her way back to the couch and sat down beside him, but not touching him, now.

"The corpse he booby-trapped was donated to one of the local medical schools by the widow. He's still tracking down a list of who had access to it and how it might have been stolen, but there aren't going to be that many people, I imagine."

"Presuming it's an inside job."

"Right."

"Well, it's a start…"

"Who would want to booby-trap a body, anyway?" Castle asked. "What's the point?"

"You should know by now that there are all kinds of weirdoes out there, Castle," she told him. "It could have been something as simple as a dare – or someone who hates cops and doesn't care which one he takes out."

"It's scary."

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a while, but Castle wasn't willing to sit and allow either of them to brood.

"Are you hungry?"

"Not really."

"I was thinking of making some cookies… want to help?"

She snorted.

"Help how?"

"Keep me company?"

Well, _that_ was only fair since he'd pretty much spent the entire afternoon playing pillow for her.

"I can do that."

It wasn't going to take too long to make cookies. He'd picked up a roll of premade cookie dough. All he was going to have to do was scoop them onto the cookie sheet and wait for them to bake.

She felt him take her hand and stand up, and she let him pull her to her feet as well.

"If you're nice to me, I'll let you have the first one out of the oven."

"An offer I can't refuse."


	9. Chapter 9

"What you need to understand about baking the ultimate cookie, my dear detective, is the realization that you don't actually _follow_ the directions on the package exactly."

Beckett sat on the bar stool he'd led her to and leaned forward, with her elbows on the island in her kitchen. She couldn't see Castle, but with him giving her a non-stop commentary on cookie baking she wasn't having any trouble looking his direction like she normally would.

"Really?" she asked, amused. "Do I dare ask _which_ directions you don't follow?"

"Sorry, Kate," he said, holding the tube of dough. "It's a secret Alexis and I will take to our graves…"

Beckett smiled.

"I bet if I called Alexis _she'd_ tell me…"

"_My baby_?" he managed to sound scandalized and she could well imagine the amused look he'd have on his face; a mixture of that and pride that she saw every time that he was discussing Alexis. "She'd never tell…"

"Speaking of your baby," Beckett said, realizing that Castle hadn't mentioned her earlier when he was telling her about everyone else who had called while she'd been asleep. "Have you talked to her today?"

"Yeah. She's having a great time. So is Mother."

"And how did she react when you told her about almost getting blown up?" Beckett asked. Then she raised her hand to stop him from answering. "Let me guess. You _didn't_ tell her."

"She would have wanted to come home - or would have spent the entire trip worrying about me - _and _you, by the way."

"So you lied?"

"I _omitted_," he corrected. "That's different. And if you are willing to keep it a secret if for some reason she calls you - at least until she gets home - I will tell you the secret to the perfect cookie."

"I won't tell," Beckett promised. It wasn't likely Alexis would need to call her anyway.

"You undercook the cookies."

She frowned.

"What?"

"You don't cook the cookies all the way. You let them finish cooking outside of the oven and on the rack."

"Seriously?"

"Don't believe me?"

"Isn't there something on the label about not eating the dough raw?"

"They don't mean it."

"I'm pretty sure they _do_, Castle."

"You've never eaten raw cookie dough?"

"No."

"Ever?"

"My mom wouldn't let me. She was afraid I'd get salmonella - and she's _right_. There are eggs in dough and -"

"Open your mouth."

"What?"

"Open your mouth."

She could hear the amusement in his voice and had also heard him open the cookie dough, so she knew what he was up to.

"No."

"Don't trust me?"

"You're going to give me _salmonella_, why would I trust that?"

"You're _not_ going to get Salmonella. Alexis and I eat it all the time and we're perfectly normal."

Oh to be able to give him a look! But since she couldn't, and she couldn't roll her eyes at him or any of the other things she'd normally do, she finally just sighed and opened her mouth. A moment later a small spoonful of cookie dough touched her lip and she took the spoon automatically and licked the dough off of it, rather than be fed.

"Good, huh?"

She smiled, because she had to admit that it was kind of good. Of course, she didn't have to admit it to _him_.

"All I can taste is salmonella…"

He snorted, amused, and she chuckled. God, she loved messing with him.

"Fine. Wait until they're baked and all the delicious forbidden flavor has been charred out of them and see if I care." She could tell by the way his voice was muffled that he'd taken a mouthful of cookie dough, too. "Do you want me to make little cookies or big cookies?"

She licked the spoon again.

"Does it matter?"

"It does in the _Castle_ household. But we are in the Beckett household and when in Rome…"

"Little cookies."

"Your wish, my command." He bustled around the kitchen, and she could hear cupboards opening and pans rattling. A moment later the oven door opened and then closed as he put the first batch in to bake. "I'll be right back. You okay in here alone?"

She scowled.

"It's _my _kitchen, Castle. I'll be fine."

"Right."

He walked by her, heading back into the living room and Beckett decided that she could at least get the glasses down for the milk if he was going to do all the baking and cooking. She stood up, one hand still on the island while the other reached out for the counter she knew was close enough to reach. The cool surface was right where she remembered it and she stepped over, already reaching up to open the cupboard above the counter.

"Kate, watch-"

His warning came too late. She slammed face first into the open cupboard door, and the edge hit her forehead, knocking her backward.


	10. Chapter 10

She took a step backward, flailing her arms, but Beckett knew she had no chance at all of catching herself before she fell. Just as she lost her balance, though, strong arms wrapped around her, steadying her and then helping her over to sit on the stool.

"I'm so sorry, Kate. I shouldn't have left it open. Are you all right?"

She wasn't. Not really. The sudden surge of adrenaline brought on by the fear of falling, and the frustration at having been injured in her own house in the stupidest way possible and everything else she'd dealt with in the last two days crashed down on her all at once and she lashed out at the only person she had available.

"No, Castle. I'm _not_. How could I be? Would _you _be? I'm basically worthless, and stuck at home and I can't even go to the bathroom without worrying about falling on my ass. Should I be all right?"

"No." There was a moment of silence and she could hear him pull up another stool. He didn't sit down, though. "You shouldn't be all right. You should be scared, and angry and all sorts of other things that even I can't think of words for."

His calm voice and ready understanding made her ashamed of the anger, and it cooled as quickly as it came. The fear, however, didn't. She hesitated, uncertainly, and finally cleared her voice and then spoke up again. This time her voice was as soft as his.

"What if Doctor Blaine is wrong, Castle?" she asked. "What if when the bandages come off, I still can't see?"

"Then we'll deal with it," he replied. "Together."

"I won't be able to be a cop anymore…"

"Sure you can."

"A _blind_ cop?"

His hands found hers and he held them tightly.

"If anyone could pull off being a blind cop, it's you, Kate. But Doctor Blaine seemed pretty sure it's temporary…"

Beckett sighed.

"I know. And she might be right. But what if she isn't…?"

"Then we can get you a seeing eye dog and teach him to track down bad guys."

She smiled at that, like he'd probably meant for her to.

"And teach him to shoot?"

"Well… I haven't thought it through completely."

"Obviously."

She felt better, though, and he must have been able to tell. He let go of her hand and she heard him open a drawer and then run some water.

"Let's get your head taken care of before someone accuses me of not doing my job right," he told her as he returned to her side. A moment later she felt him press a cold, wet towel against her forehead.

"Am I bleeding?"

"Just a little," he assured her. "Does it hurt?"

"Not much."

"The cold water will stop it from swelling and stop the bleeding. Hold that there for a minute and I'll get the first aid kit so we can clean it - just to make sure."

She did what he told her, and a moment later he returned, and took over. After waiting another minute for the towel to do its job he pulled it away and checked to make sure there wasn't any more bleeding.

"Well?" Beckett asked.

"It might bruise. Sorry about that."

"Is it bad?"

"Nah." He dropped the towel on the island and she could hear him fiddling with the first aid kit. "This might sting," he warned her. She felt him put his hand on her chin to tilt her head up toward him and then press a little pad against her forehead. One with alcohol on it, she figured out immediately from the instant sting.

She hissed with the pain and then felt him blowing gently on the cut.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, blowing again. "It should stop hurting soon."

The sincere caring in his voice was compelling, and Beckett reached up with her hand and touched his cheek. It was stubbled, something she knew was a result of taking care of her and not really taking care of himself. Impulsively, she reached up with the other hand as well and pulled his head down before pressing a kiss unerringly against his lips and only slightly bumping her nose against his.

Beckett was surprised by the heat that rushed through her at the contact, and reacted accordingly, everything else forgotten for the moment as she deepened the kiss. She could tell from the way he froze that he was startled, but he didn't pull away from her. Instead, he moaned softly, deepening the kiss and bringing his arms around her to hold her tightly against him. She sighed in anticipation at his acceptance, and her hand went from his face to slide down his body, slowly, stopping at his belt and exploring-

Castle froze, and reluctantly pulled his head back, breaking the kiss abruptly.

"We can't."

"Yes, we-"

"Kate…" he kissed her again, softly but no less hungrily, but then sighed. "_I _can't."

"But-"

"You're vulnerable right now," he told her, taking her hands in his - mainly to keep her from continuing what she was doing, because that was driving him crazy - and he hugged her tightly. "I can't take advantage of that. I love you too much to do something so slimy."

"It's not taking advantage," she replied. "I want to-"

"You're killing me," he told her, and now she could hear a little amusement - and a lot of regret in his voice. "When the bandages come off and things are resolved - one way or the other - and if you want to make the offer again, I'll jump at it. I promise you. Until then, I'll hold you, support you and do anything else you need me to…"

"I might not make it then," she pointed out.

"I know. That's the whole point."

He kissed her forehead, and pulled away completely, just as the buzzer on the oven went off, telling them that the first batch of cookies were done. Relieved at the distraction, he pulled them out of the oven and put the other batch that he was making in to bake, and then looked over at her.

"Please don't be mad at me, Kate…"

Beckett smiled, and held out a hand to him. An invitation that he accepted.

"I'm not mad. A little disappointed - and a bit _embarrassed_, I suppose…"

He sat down on the stool beside hers, still holding her hand.

"It's probably perfectly normal," he said. "I bet a psychologist could explain it no problem. Besides… I'm quite the catch, you know?"

Beckett snorted.


	11. Chapter 11

They ate cookies and milk at the island in the kitchen. More than they'd intended almost certainly, but like he'd told her, Castle made really good cookies and Beckett was in the mood for comfort food. When the milk was gone and the only surviving cookies out of two batches were put into a baggie for safe keeping until the next day, Castle looked over at Beckett.

"Best cookies ever?"

She smiled.

"They were good."

"Good? Only _good_?"

"Well… _pretty_ good."

He mimed being stabbed in the heart and realized belatedly that she couldn't see the motion.

"Alexis loves them."

"She's _biased_," Beckett pointed out. "She probably helps you make them every time."

"True."

"What time is it?"

Castle looked at his watch.

"About 10. Are you ready for bed, or do you want to stay up a while?"

She wasn't really all that tired; she'd napped for most of the afternoon and early evening, after all, but she was sure that _he_ hadn't had any sleep and he was probably tired. Beckett knew him well enough to know that he wasn't going to go to bed when she was sitting up alone in the darkness.

"I think I'm ready to get ready for bed," she told him, standing up.

He put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'll go get things ready for you. Want me to get you something to sleep in?" he hesitated and then when he spoke she could hear sly amusement in his voice. "Or are you going to sleep _naked_?"

Beckett chuckled.

"There are sweats and T-shirts in my dresser. Find me something that matches, please?"

"Right."

She sat at the island rather than try to work her way across the living room. Not that she was uncertain of the layout of the room – she wasn't – there just wasn't that much point to finding her way to the couch and then finding her way to the bathroom right after that. She knew he'd put everything in the bathroom for her – or leave it on her bed.

"Bedroom or bathroom, Kate?" she heard him ask from what was probably the doorway of her bedroom.

"Bathroom, please."

"Okay."

There were some noises coming from the bathroom, clattering and then some water running and more clattering. A few minutes later he was back with her, a hand brushing against her shoulder in case she hadn't heard him approach.

"I set a washcloth with some soap so you can clean up a bit," he told her. "It'll make you feel better – especially since you can't shower. The washcloth is on the side of the tub, and your toothbrush is ready to go on the sink. Your clothes are on the back of the toilet."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Let me know if you need anything."

He didn't offer to walk her to the bathroom, and she appreciated him giving her the independence to make that decision herself. Feeling awkward, she carefully made her way across the room and into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Castle watched her close the door, waited just a minute to see if she was going to need anything, but pretty certain she wasn't going to need help. He'd thought of everything, he was sure. He cleaned up the kitchen and put the few dishes that they used into the dishwasher to be washed later, and then looked in the fridge to decide what he was going to make her for breakfast the next morning.

His cell phone rang as he was deciding on the menu, and a quick look at the caller ID made him smile as he answered.

"Hello Daughter…"

OOOOOOOOOOO

When Beckett came out of the bathroom, she was wearing sweats and a t-shirt and feeling a million times better than she had going in. A sponge bath was better than nothing – although she was determined to try a regular bath the next day just for a chance to soak – and she'd had a chance to take care of her own needs, which made her feel much more secure about things when she was filled with uncertainty about her future.

"Everything okay?" he asked her from the couch.

"Perfect."

She looked better, he decided. Not cleaner or anything like that, just a little more relaxed.

"You mind if I take a shower?"

"Of course not. I'm going to go to bed."

"How's your head? Need a painkiller?"

"No. It's not too bad."

"Want me to _tuck_ you in?"

Beckett smiled.

"Go shower, Castle. I can find my bed on my own."

"Good night, Kate."

"Good night."

She headed – carefully – into her room, and heard him go into the bathroom.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Castle had a couple of problems. Nothing terrible, just a lack of clothing and supplies. He was going to have to go home tomorrow though and get something to wear, because all he had were pants and a shirt that he'd already worn for two days, now. Luckily, he had his own shower gel and shampoo, because he really didn't want to smell like vanilla and peaches when he went to bed.

He shaved in the shower and washed his hair, feeling just a little guilty since he knew she hadn't had a chance to do that. Maybe he'd offer to try to wash it the next day – although he was pretty sure she'd decline that. He turned off the shower and brushed his teeth, and then headed for the guest room, hesitating at the closed door to her room and wondering if he should check on her to make sure she was okay. He decided it wouldn't be a good idea – she was a grownup and if she needed him she would call – and instead stopped in the kitchen long enough to take some aspirin to ease the almost ever present ache in his head and then went to bed, leaving the door open in case she needed him.

As he was dozing off, however, he was about fell out of the bed when she suddenly slipped under his blankets with him.

"Kate?"

"You said you'd hold me," she told him, sounding uncertain in the darkness. "I don't want to wake up alone…"

He put an arm around her, and she scooted against him at the silent invitation.

"Of course I'll hold you."

She relaxed, and rested her head against his bare chest, putting her hand lightly on his stomach. Then she tensed, realizing something she hadn't before.

"Are you _naked_?"

He grinned in the dark.

"I wasn't expecting company…" She tensed, but he chuckled and took her hand, guiding it down to his hip, and she felt the cloth of his boxers. "Your sweats wouldn't fit," he told her bringing her hand back to his stomach and settling into a more comfortable position with her cuddled carefully against him.

Beckett smiled and allowed herself to drift off to sleep, knowing that he'd hold her and his presence would drive away the bad dreams and the uncertainty of the morning.


	12. Chapter 12

"Are you planning on sleeping all day…?"

The voice was a soft whisper in his ear, and if the soft breath on his cheek that accompanied the question wasn't enough to wake him, the sultry female voice definitely would have been. Castle found himself waking warm and comfortable, and really… he couldn't think of a single reason _not _to sleep all day.

"Mmm-hmmm…"

There was a chuckle in his ear, now, and he smiled, even though he hadn't opened his eyes yet. There was no doubt who was with him, and he decided she was a good way to wake up.

"I brought you breakfast."

He opened his eyes and turned his head, surprised. She was still right above him, her face only inches from his - although she probably didn't know that. But maybe she _did_. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, telling him that she'd been awake at least a little while.

"You did?"

"Mmm-hmmm… are you hungry?"

He shifted to sit up and she settled herself on the bed beside him, sitting comfortably and still dressed in the sweats and t-shirt she'd slept in. On the stand by the bed was a tray. On that tray was a box of cereal, a quart of milk, a couple of bowls, spoons and some of the muffins and bananas that they'd bought the day before. It wasn't an omelet or anything fancy, but he was touched, and impressed with her daring. He wasn't so sure he'd have tried carrying all that blindfolded across _his _living room.

"Starving." Castle piled a couple of the pillows against the headboard behind her. "Sit back, Kate. We'll put the tray on you so you don't have to reach so far."

She did what he said and he covered her lap and belly with the blanket before reaching over her and grabbing the tray. Placing it on her lap, he flipped the legs down so the weight wasn't resting on her and it was more stable.

"In the interest of keeping the mess to a minimum, you should probably do the serving," she suggested, not looking at all abashed at allowing him to pour her cereal and milk.

"I can do that," he agreed, pouring them both a bowl of cereal and putting some milk on hers. He gave her her spoon and watched as she picked the bowl up and held it close to her face while she ate to cut down on any spillage. "How long have you been awake?" he asked, peeling a banana.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "You were sleeping pretty soundly, though, so I decided I'd wait on you a little bit for a change."

"Thank you." He leaned back against his pillow and leaned against her side a little, too, just because he knew she wouldn't mind - although he was careful not to get in the way of her eating. Munching on the banana, he watched her eat for a minute before speaking up again. "I was thinking we could go do something today. Maybe get out and take a walk? What do you think?"

"_I _think that's a great idea."

They both jumped at the sudden voice coming from the doorway and Beckett's bowl of cereal ended up spilled on Castle's head as she flinched.

"Lanie?"

The ME was grinning apologetically at them as she walked into the room, but she couldn't help the slightly raised eyebrow when she noticed that Castle wasn't dressed and Beckett was so close to him and so casual about the contact.

"I didn't mean to startle you. Sorry."

"You don't _look _sorry," Castle said, sliding out of the bed before the milk that was spilled all over him managed to soak the bed. He was sleeping in it, after all, and the last thing he needed was for it to be wet or smell like sour milk.

"_I'm _sorry, Castle," Beckett told him, well aware that she must have spilled her cereal on him. That was the only reason she could think of that he would vacate the bed so quickly. He certainly wouldn't think anything of Lanie having caught them sitting in the same bed, she knew.

"It's not _your _fault, Kate," he told her, sincerely. She was pretty sure she could hear more amusement in his voice than anything, and she was grateful that he was such a good sport and had such a good sense of humor. "Lanie, however, is now responsible for keeping you company while I wash the raisin bran out of my hair."

"Fair enough," Lanie agreed, watching him walk out of the room before walking over to the bed and pulling off the blanket that Castle had been using. It was soaked with milk and would definitely need washed before it was usable again. The blanket covering Beckett wasn't too bad, and the sheets were fine, so she sat in the warm spot that Castle had vacated, and reached for a muffin from the tray on Beckett's lap. "Did you know he's mostly naked?"

Beckett nodded.

"He's out of clothes - and it's not like I'm going to be ogling him, after all."

"That's true, I suppose. How are you doing?"

"Better than I expected, really."

"Castle taking good care of you?"

Beckett smiled.

"Yeah."

"He's not being unbearable?" she asked her, and noticed that she suddenly blushed a brilliant red. "Making the moves on you?" she guessed.

Kate shook her head.

"_He's _being a perfect gentleman," she replied. "I actually made a move on _him _yesterday…" this last was said in a very soft whisper.

"You did?"

She nodded.

"He turned me down."

"Seriously?"

"Don't be so surprised, Lanie. He's not _nearly_ as shallow as he'd like for people to believe."

"I know," Lanie said. "But this is _you _we're talking about…"

Which only made Beckett smile, because she knew that, too.

"He gave me a rain check for later…"

Lanie made an ooo-ing noise, but she didn't press the obvious question, and Kate appreciated it, because she wasn't sure what the answer would have been anyway.

"Well, Javier is feeling pretty good today and decided to go in to the precinct and see what he could learn, so I'm here to give Castle a break if he needs it and to help you get a bath and take care of things you might not want Castle's help with - or _do _you?"

Which only made Beckett blush again.

"I'd appreciate the help. I was so worried I was going to have to let him pick me out an outfit to wear today…"


	13. Chapter 13

Castle was glad to have a chance to get over to his place and grab some much needed clothing. He had, of course, intended to bring Beckett with him as part of their outing that morning, but he was pretty sure she'd been relieved to see Lanie (figuratively, of course) arrive, since he knew she needed help with some things that she was probably reluctant to ask him for help with. Which was understandable, he supposed. He had told Lanie and Beckett he was going to go home and get some things and then head into the precinct to see Ryan and Esposito and see what they had learned about the bomb and bomber and that he'd be back at Beckett's in time to take her to lunch. Hopefully he'd have something to tell her about the investigation as well.

When he got home he changed into clean clothes and then grabbed enough clothing for a couple more days away from home. He checked messages (nothing interesting since Alexis and his mother were both gone) and then made himself breakfast since his had been interrupted by Lanie's arrival. He smiled about that, though, because it really had been thoughtful of Beckett to bring him breakfast in bed, no matter that he'd ended up wearing hers.

He finished his breakfast, made sure there wasn't anything in the fridge that would go bad if he was gone for a couple of days and then carried his bag down to his car and headed for precinct. Not only would he find out what they'd learned, but he'd also have a chance to see how Esposito was doing.

OOOOOOOOO

Esposito was doing fine as it turned out. He was sitting at his desk, looking over some paperwork when Castle walked out of the elevator. Both men smiled when they caught each other's gaze, and both were quick to look the other over to see how they were faring. Esposito was sporting a cast on his arm and several partially healed scrapes on his face. Aside from that he looked pretty good, Castle decided as he walked over. After his shower the night before Castle had left the bandage off his forehead and Ryan and Esposito could both see some nasty scrapes and cuts, but like Esposito's, these were on their way to healing and didn't appear to be bothering the writer any.

"Hey, Castle," Ryan greeted him. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good. You?"

"Can't complain. How's Beckett?" Esposito asked.

"She's hanging in there," Castle answered. "She's doing a lot better than I would be. You guys should come by and say hi."

"I wanted to this morning," Esposito told him. "Lanie said we'd go over tonight."

"I've already been invited," Ryan added.

"Sounds great," he said, grinning. What have you found out about the bomber?" Castle asked, changing the subject simply because he loved nothing more than a mystery – but even more, he wanted to have good news for Beckett when he returned to her place.

"The dead body was donated to New York Hospital for research purposes," Esposito replied, looking at a sheet of paper that was sitting on his desk. "The guy's widow said it was in the will he left. The hospital received the body – we have a copy of the receipt for it."

"She sold it?"

"No," Ryan said, shaking his head. "But they do still give a receipt to prove that they received it."

"It's kind of creepy," Esposito said. "Do you hang onto that kind of thing?"

Castle shrugged. He didn't have a clue, but it might be something that made its way into his next book – you never knew.

"I wouldn't know. So how many people had access to the body once the hospital received it?"

"A bunch," was the answer. "We have a list, but it's going to take a little time to narrow down, since they can't even tell us when the body went missing."

"They don't inventory it?"

"Apparently not until they're ready to use it," Ryan told him. "They didn't know it was missing until we came looking for the information about it."

"_That's_ creepy…" Castle said and the others didn't disagree with him.

"We're just going to check the entire list, since we can't narrow down a time. We're cross-referencing for anyone with a beef with the cops or anyone with any kind of background of mental illness or police record and if that doesn't work, we'll just go door to door on them and talk to each one until we find the one who has a mini bomb-making factory in his basement."

"What about the bomb?"

Ryan shook his head.

"No fingerprints on it, and everything used to make it are things you can buy over the counter. The forensics people are looking at it anyway – just to see if they get lucky – but they're not very hopeful. We're better off follow the trail of the body itself."

He hung out at the precinct with them for a while, talking about various possibilities, but they didn't need any help with what they were doing and he knew that they'd let him know if they found anything out.

"What time tonight?" he asked as he gathered his jacket.

"Lanie said six," Esposito told him. "So make sure you're there and we don't have to come looking for you guys."

Castle grinned.

"You're bringing dinner?"

"Sure."

"We'll be there."

OOOOOOOOOO

Beckett and Lanie were sitting on the couch drinking coffee when Castle knocked and then let himself into the apartment. He smiled when he saw them and heard Lanie tell the detective that it was him.

"Good afternoon ladies," he said, walking over and handing Lanie a flower with a flourish. "Did you have a good morning?"

Lanie smiled and smelled the flower, watching as Castle reached out and took Beckett's hand with his and then with the other pressed a long stemmed rose into her hand gently. The detective smiled when she realized what it was and smelled hers, too.

"Did you really have cookies for dinner last night?" Lanie asked him, her voice far more stern than her eyes and expression.

Castle froze, his hand still touching Beckett's.

"Um…"

"I told her it was too late to eat dinner by the time I woke up from the nap," Beckett told him. "So don't let her bully you."

"We're coming over tonight," Lanie said. "So we'll make sure she gets a healthier dinner than you gave her."

"Yes, ma'am."

The ME smiled, and smelled her flower again.

"We'll see you at six."

"We'll be here."

"You'd better be."

She said goodbye to Kate, winked at Castle with a final smile and left the two of them alone.

"She's not really mad, you know?" Kate told him.

"I know." He sat down beside her, touching her knee briefly to give her an idea of how far away he was. "How are you doing?"

"How do I look?"

"Great." She did, too; obviously Lanie had helped her with her hair, because it was shiny and clean and she had it back some kind of style that looked intricate but probably wasn't too terribly hard to maintain all things considered. "It's nice out; are you up for a jaunt in the park with me?"

Beckett nodded.

"Sounds great."

He stood up and took her hand.

"Then let's go."


	14. Chapter 14

_Author's note: So holiday weekend. No promises of how much I will write, but here is today's chapter at least!_

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Even though it was a little chilly out – not really cold, just a bit brisk – Castle decided that the park had been a really good idea. He drove them out, parked the car and then put the two of them on one of the many walking paths that circled the park. Beckett slid her arm around him, her hand holding his belt like she had when they'd wandered the grocery store the day before, and as they walked, Castle filled her in on all that Esposito and Ryan had told him about the case thus far. Which wasn't that much, but enough to make her feel like she was actually part of things. And that made her feel better, he could tell, simply by the way her mood lightened as they walked.

Of course, another part could have simply been that she was glad to not be cooped up at home. He was glad they weren't stuck inside, too. He put his arm around her shoulder as they walked, and she leaned into his side, presumably to suck up a little warmth from him, but the closeness was nice, too, he decided.

Either the bright sun or the exercise – or a combination of both – were combining to give him a headache, though, and he finally had to call a halt to the walk and find a place to sit for a while.

"Are you hungry?" he asked her, seeing a hotdog vendor coming up on the pathway – and a bench nearby.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"Hotdogs?"

She hesitated.

"There's no way I can eat a hotdog without spilling on myself…"

"Neither can _I_," he pointed out. "They're _supposed_ to be messy."

"Good point."

"You want one?" he asked, steering her over to the vendor, who smiled a greeting – and gave the detective's bandaged eyes a second glance before asking how he could help them.

She nodded, and told the vendor what she wanted on it. He fixed hers, and then made a similar one for Castle who asked for lots of extra napkins.

"I'm a messy eater," he said with a wink as he gathered the hotdogs and stuffed a couple of cans of soda into his pockets so he'd have a hand free to guide Beckett over to the bench. He paid the vendor and then the two of them went and sat down.

"This is going to be a disaster," Beckett predicted as he handed her the hotdog.

"It'll be fine," he assured her, making sure she was comfortable and then handing over the hot dog. "I'm going to put some napkins on your shirt…"

She nodded and he tucked a couple in as a bib and then a few more for extra measure. Her normal 'usual' wasn't too messy, really, but she looked nice and he wanted to make sure she stayed that way. Beckett took a bite and chewed appreciatively.

"So what else did you do this morning?" she asked, waiting to feel if anything dripped onto her. She didn't feel anything, though, and was a little more confident when she took the next bite.

"Talked to Alexis," he answered, his mouth full. "And _then_ to my mother."

"Oh?"

He nodded, but again remembered that she wasn't able to see it.

"The ship was in port at some little island so they didn't have long to talk, but I let mother know what happened and suggested that when they dock back in Miami that she and Alexis spend a couple of extra days there shopping."

"Really? What did she say?"

"Are you kidding? She said yes. Alexis will be a little harder to convince I imagine."

"Why? Because she's a daddy's girl and will want to come home?"

He smiled.

"Exactly."

"I'm not worried about her seeing me like this…" Kate told him.

"Neither am I," he assured her. "But I'll be able to spend more time with you if they're in Miami. I suggested she wait to come home until Tuesday."

"My bandages come off Monday…"

"Yep."

She didn't say anything else, but she was touched that he was going to so much trouble to make sure he could take care of her. She took another bite of her hotdog, but leaned against him a little by way of thanks. He chuckled and gave her a quick once over to make sure that she hadn't spilled, and then he put his arm around her, hugging her close for a moment before turning his attention to his meal.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

They stayed in the park most of the afternoon, but eventually the chill drove them back to Beckett's. She was in a good mood, though, and glad for the chance to have gotten out and feel so normal after the last couple of days. Castle was good company at the best of times and it appeared that he was also someone to spend time with when it wasn't the best of times, because she was pretty sure that she wouldn't have had as good a time even with Lanie.

They still had an hour or so before they could start expecting the others to arrive and he offered to read her the paper while they waited. She accepted that offer and the two of them settled on the sofa. He started with the front page and literally worked his way through every part of the paper for her. The only thing he skipped was the entertainment section and the obituaries. He even read her the classified section, and they had a few laughs over what some people were selling and what some were looking for. He was just closing the paper when there was a knock on the door and Lanie let herself in, followed by Esposito and the Ryan.

All of them were carrying bags of something that smelled delicious and Lanie told Kate to stay where she was because they were making dinner for her and they didn't need help. Then she promptly told Castle to get into the kitchen because she needed help. He rolled his eyes but left Beckett sitting on the sofa and was put to work slicing garlic bread while Ryan went into the living room and offered Beckett a glass of wine.

"What did you guys do today?" Lanie asked, gesturing to Esposito to pour the already cooked pasta into a bowl.

"Went to the park. Ate hot dogs."

"How did that work out, Kate?" Lanie asked, knowing they were speaking loudly enough for Beckett to overhear.

"He says I didn't make a mess…"

"She didn't," Castle confirmed. "I, of course, splattered mustard on myself."

They put the meal together and Ryan and Castle set the table. The guys updated her on the case, but there wasn't anything new since that morning when Castle had been filled in so it didn't take long. It didn't matter, though; they were close enough that there was always something to talk about and the guys assisted Beckett with her meal in everyway they could without letting on that they were actually helping her. She smiled often, and clearly was having a good time.

After dinner was over, Beckett helped Ryan and Esposito clean up the table – sort of – and Lanie called Castle into the living room to help her set up a game of Trivial Pursuit – which didn't need a set of working eyes, just someone to read the questions. He went in readily, and was suddenly grabbed by the shirt and pulled into the bathroom, too shocked to even protest. Lanie shut the door firmly but silently and then turned on the water in the sink.

"Um… am I missing something?" Castle asked, confused.

"Shh!"

"What?"

He had a feeling Lanie had lost her mind.

"Kate told me what happened between you two," Lanie told him in a whisper.

Castle's eyebrows went up in surprise.

"_Nothing's_ happened between us," he protested.

"Well why not?"


	15. Chapter 15

Castle froze, certain that he hadn't heard her correctly, but knowing that he had.

"Uh… be-because it wouldn't be right?"

"_Because_?"

"Is this a _test_?" he asked, a little annoyed.

She slapped his arm, annoyed as well.

"Are you _crazy_?" she asked him, lowering her voice and turning up the water a little. "Kate's vulnerable right now and if you turn her down what is that telling her?"

He frowned.

"That I care enough about her not to take advantage of her?"

"No," Lanie hissed. "That's she's not _desirable_. Do you _want_ her to think that?"

"It's not like that, Lanie. I told her that any other time I'd-"

"Take her up on it?" Lanie interrupted. "What's different _now_? See what I'm getting at? That kind of thing is enough to-"

"What are you saying?" He interrupted. "I should sleep with her?"

"_No_." Lanie replied, quickly. "_Yes_? I don't _know_, okay? Just… think about what you're doing before you do anything."

"I thought I _was_…"

She sighed, and sat down on the edge of the tub.

"You _are_," she told him, not looking annoyed at him any longer. "I just wanted to let you see a different side of how it could be viewed."

"Truth be told I really didn't consider that she might see it as me rejecting her. I wasn't, you know?"

"Then I suppose it's good that we talked. Look, I'm not serving her up to you like a Sunday Turkey dinner, all right? Just…"

"Think about how she might construe things before I do them," he finished.

"Right."

"I will," he promised.

"Thanks."

She turned the water off and they went back out into the living room. Esposito gave them an odd look when the two exited the bathroom, but he wisely didn't even ask what they were doing in there. He just rolled his eyes and asked Beckett where she kept the Trivial Pursuit game.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"That was fun," Beckett said a few hours later as the door closed behind Esposito and Lanie. Ryan had left an hour earlier, citing that he had to get up early, but Lanie and Esposito had stayed for one more round of Trivial Pursuit before they'd finally called it a night as well. They asked if Kate needed anything and when she assured them she was fine, they gathered up the remains of the dinner and said their goodbyes for the night.

Castle had to agree. Of course, Beckett was a bit smug since she'd proven you don't need to be able to see to win at Trivia games.

"Yeah, it was fun. We'll have to do it again sometime – _with_ Alexis."

"I could use the competition."

"Smart ass."

Castle couldn't hide the amusement in his voice, and his expression warmed at the smile on her face, too.

"It _would_ be fun, though," she said, sitting down on the couch and leaning back against the cushions.

"Yeah." He put the game pieces and cards away and put it back where it belonged and then sat down beside her, just shy of touching. It was late, but not _really_ late, and he was pretty sure she wasn't tired yet. "Want me to read to you for a while?"

"You don't mind?"

He shook his head.

"Not at all. I kind of enjoy it."

"Let me go get ready for bed."

"I'll get everything ready for you in the bathroom."

They stood up at the same time and he walked with her to her room to get her something to sleep in and then she followed him when he carried it into the bathroom.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked while he was getting the toothpaste out for her toothbrush.

"Of course."

"What did you and Lanie talk about in here?"

Castle dropped the toothpaste with a clatter.

"Um…"

"Tell me that wasn't my toothbrush…"

"No." He floundered, could feel his face turning red and was glad for the moment that she couldn't see his blush. He bent over to pick up the toothpaste and to give himself a moment longer to think, but he was frozen. "We… what do you mean?"

She tilted her head.

"I _heard_ her drag you off into the bathroom, and turn the water on. I just couldn't hear what you were saying."

"Oh. That. It's nothing, Kate… Just-"

"If the doctor told _her_ something about my eyes I want to know, Castle," she told him, her entire body tense. "I'd rather know than not…"

He felt a surge of relief and smiled. She was under the assumption that it had been about her eyes!

"It's nothing like that," he assured her. "As far as I know Lanie hasn't heard anything new – and if she did, she didn't tell me about it. I imagine she'd tell _you_ if there was anything to know. You know she wouldn't hold out on you."

He didn't think she would, any way.

Beckett hesitated, uncertain. _Now_ was the time most when she missed being able to see, because she'd have known in an instant if he were lying to her. Of course, this was Castle, and not some suspect and she trusted him when he told her he was telling the truth, so the hesitation didn't last long.

"If it wasn't _that_, then what was it?" she asked him.

"Um… I'd rather _not_ say…"

"Was it about _me_?"

"Don't you need to get ready for bed?"

Which told her everything she needed to know.

"It _was_ about me, wasn't it?"

"It wasn't about your _health_," he replied. He pressed her toothbrush into her hand with her toothpaste into the other hand and changed the subject. "I'll go get the book and meet you in the living room when you're ready."

"Castle…"

"I'll be on the couch."

She heard him leave, and scowled, annoyed and frustrated, but really more curious than anything. Obviously about her, but nothing serious enough that it was health related – and clearly something he didn't want to discuss. A mystery! And not one he was going to share, apparently. She wondered if it was a surprise party or something like that, and hoped that it wasn't. She had enjoyed the evening, but that was because of the company she'd kept. These were the ones closest to her and the ones she would always be most comfortable with. It would be hard for her to be in a large group of people just then. With a sigh, she started brushing her teeth. He'd tell her eventually, she decided. Even if she had to figure out a way to trick him into it.

Castle felt like he'd dodged a bullet as he left the bathroom. He went into the living room, made sure that everything was cleaned up and put the book he'd been reading to her the day before on the coffee table. Then he went into the bedroom and changed into sweats and a t-shirt he'd brought from home. He frowned at the slight smell of souring milk and decided that the bedding needed washed before he slept in it – which meant he was going to be sacking out on the couch that night. Not that it was a terrible thing since the couch wasn't uncomfortable.

_You could always end up in _her_ bed_

He scowled in disgust with himself at _that_ less than chivalrous thought, and pushed it out of his mind. No matter what Lanie said, he wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize the relationship he already had with Beckett. There was plenty of time, after all.

He made sure to make plenty of noise as he walked back into the living room to let her know that he was there. Then he picked up the book and sat down on the sofa, waiting for her to join him – or to hear if she needed help with anything.


	16. Chapter 16

By the time she was done with her pre-bedtime tasks – which seemed to take forever since she had to be so much more careful about everything – Beckett had had plenty of time to try and figure out what secret Castle was hiding from her. The problem was, she honestly couldn't think what it could be. About her, definitely, but not about her health or her eyes, if Castle was to be believed – and she did believe him. He'd sounded too surprised when she'd brought that possibility up. Deciding that if it was still bothering her the next day she'd try to get Lanie to tell her, Beckett figured she'd let it drop. Instead, she dressed in sweats and another t-shirt (green, Castle had told her) and hung up the towel she'd been using before she opened the bathroom door.

"I'm on the couch."

His voice came from that direction almost immediately and she nodded and made her way carefully over toward him, her hand out in front of her until she felt his hand touching hers. She moved over to the other side of him and sat down.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," came the immediate reply. "Do you want anything? Coffee?"

She shook her head.

"I'm good."

"Still want me to read to you?"

"You don't mind?"

"Not at all." He reached for the book and settled himself a little more comfortably. "It's like a personalized book reading – since that's exactly what it is – and it's relaxing. Especially since I already know how the story will end so I don't have to disconnect from the story to try and figure out who did it."

She settled beside him, only a little self conscious as she stretched out on the sofa and rested her head lightly on his thigh like she had the last time. She felt his hand come to rest on her shoulder, and she smiled in contentment. He waited only a moment – probably waiting to see if she needed anything – and then he began reading, probably where he'd left off the last time.

His voice was steady; hypnotic almost, and she relaxed as he read to her so easily that it felt like they'd done this a million times. Beckett reached for the hand on her shoulder and held it with her own, tucking it against her stomach and pretty much wrapping his arm around her. She was fine with it, and he was fine with it – he didn't pull away at any rate – so she relaxed further and eventually found herself being lulled to sleep by his voice.

_"'Bradley's hand slid along her thigh, coming to rest on her hip. She moaned in pleasure at the touch and arched toward him, expectantly. His hands, which had been so rough only a moment before were suddenly gentle. The hands of a lover. He slid one under her blouse and…'"_

Castle trailed off, reading silently ahead. It was a very detailed bedroom scene – one of the more detailed that he could remember writing – and he was reminded almost forcefully that she was so close to him, and almost certainly willing if he asked her. He looked down at Beckett, who hadn't moved in a while and was completely relaxed against him and realized that she must have fallen asleep while he was reading. Which was probably just as well, he decided.

He put the book down on the floor, careful not to move and wake her – in case she'd just dozed off and wasn't completely asleep yet – and stroked her hair gently with his now free hand, still holding her with the other.

"I think we'll end it there for the night, Kate, hmmm?" he whispered to her.

She mumbled something, probably more in response to the change of his tone of voice than to any real words he'd spoken, and shifted a little in his grasp, until she was on her back, her head still on his thigh and his hand still in hers. Now, however, it was resting on her stomach, and the touch was far more intimate – at least it seemed that way to him. He didn't move his hand, though – for that matter, he didn't move at all. She was asleep and wouldn't remember him holding her like he was, and it gave him a chance to simply be still for a while and relax with her, without needing to worry if she was okay or needed anything.

He watched the clock on her DVD player change minute to minute, and then hour to hour, and finally when he started to feel himself drifting off, he decided to call it a night.

"Bedtime, my love," he whispered, sliding out from under her head and carefully replacing his leg with a pillow from the couch for the moment. He waited to make sure she didn't wake, and then went into her room and pulled the blankets back. Then he went back to the living room, picked her up easily and carried her into her bedroom and deposited her in her bed. She mumbled something, clearly still asleep, and rolled onto her side. He smiled, watching her sleep for a moment before he covered her with her blankets and tucked her carefully in. There was only a moment of hesitation when he considered staying with her, tucking himself up into her arms, but he finally decided it would be too much of a temptation. He was only human, after all! Castle leaned over and kissed her, daring to press his lips gently against hers for the briefest moment, and then he left her room, leaving the door open in case she woke up and needed anything.

With a sigh he settled himself back on the sofa, unwilling to sleep in the bed that smelled like sour milk. The room wasn't cold, or warm, and since he was in sweats he decided he didn't need to go find a blanket. Instead, he stretched himself out in the space she'd just been in – which was still warm from when she'd been there – and fell asleep almost immediately.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"Castle?" The cry woke him with a start. His head came up and he looked around, groggily, trying to figure out what dream had ended with someone calling for him.

"_Castle!"_

This time he realized it was Beckett, and twisted around, jerking himself ungainly off the couch in his haste to get to his feet and get to her. He tripped and stumbled, bringing his hand out to catch himself before he could fall. He felt a sharp pain when he connected awkwardly with the coffee table and was pretty sure he heard a pop at the same time, but he muffled the curse and sprinted into her bedroom.

"Kate?"

She was sitting up, and her head swung around at the sound of his voice. Even in the pale light of the lone lamp he'd left on he could see her face was pale and sheened with sweat.

"Where are-"

"I'm here."

He slid to a stop next to the bed and practically flung himself into it. As soon as he touched her, she pressed against him blindly, holding him tightly and shaking.

"I woke up and I thought I was still in the living room," she told him, her face buried against his chest so hard that he could barely understand her. "But then I touched the sheet and I wasn't sure-"

"I put you to bed when you fell asleep," he told her, berating himself for doing something so dumb. Of course she wouldn't know where she was. Stupid! "I'm sorry, Kate… I didn't mean for it to frighten you…"

She shivered, but now it was with reaction. She didn't tell him, but the scariest part had been waking up alone and unable to see. That was what had frightened her so badly, and then when she'd realized she wasn't where she thought she was supposed to be it had scared her even worse, tipping her into the realm of hysterical before she could stop and try to reason herself out of it. She'd called him, automatically, and when he hadn't answered immediately, she'd panicked again. Now, though, he was there, and anchoring her back to the real world and not the scary dark place that she'd found herself. She couldn't do anything but hold him and tremble for what seemed to be an eternity, and the entire time she shook he held her, rubbing her back and crooning words of encouragement into her ear.

Eventually she calmed, and with that calm came a wave of embarrassment at just how badly she'd reacted.

"I'm sorry," she told him, her face still against his chest, the fabric of his shirt wet with her sweat and her bandages soaked with tears.

"It's okay," he answered, pressing his cheek against hers. "I'm sorry I moved you. I should have woken you up."

She nodded her acceptance of his apology, and felt him running his hand through her hair as he held her, clearly upset with himself.

"What time is it?"

He looked at the alarm clock by her bed.

"About 2am."

"I'm sorry I woke you up. I'm okay, now…"

Castle pressed a kiss against her cheek.

"I'll stay with you tonight, unless you want me to leave."

She paused just for a moment, and her hold on him tightened just a little.

"Stay with me."


	17. Chapter 17

He let her go long enough to shift in the bed a bit, joining her under the blankets and then covering her to make sure she didn't catch a chill. Holding her again, he could feel an occasional tremor run through her, and he responded by shifting even closer, tucking her head under his chin and rubbing her back soothingly.

"I feel so stupid," she finally said, her voice muffled slightly. "Afraid of the dark…"

He pressed a kiss against the top of her head.

"It's nothing to feel stupid about," he assured her. "I don't think you're stupid."

She sighed, and fell silent, but he knew that she wasn't going to sleep any time soon. Not after the fright she'd just had. He didn't mind. He wasn't tired, either, and a throbbing ache running from his left wrist down to his fingers and up to his elbow was probably going to bother him until he had a chance to get it looked at. There was time for that later, though. Now, she was finally starting to relax against him and there wasn't anything he was going to do to hamper that.

"Castle?"

"Hmmm?"

"Tell me a story…"

He smiled, holding her with his injured hand and running his fingers through her hair lightly.

"What kind of story?"

"Not a mystery."

"Those are the only ones I know," he murmured.

"You never thought of being a romance writer? Or children's author?"

"No. Not really." He shifted just a little, trying to keep his left hand from going numb. "I used to tell Alexis stories to put her to sleep, but she was never into the fairy princess stories. She liked mysteries."

"Convenient."

He nodded.

"Definitely."

She ran her hand along his side.

"If you hadn't become a writer, what do you think you'd have been?" she asked him. "A _detective_?"

He chuckled.

"Probably not."

"You like solving mysteries," she said. "That's what _we_ do, too."

"Yeah, I know. But _you_ have discipline and I never did, really." Not up until he'd started spending time with her and learning how important it was to her. Only then did it become something he realized he needed as well.

"You'd make a good detective." Beckett murmured.

He kissed her cheek.

"Thank you."

Her hand was moving again, her gentle touch delightfully sensual. Not surprisingly, really, he felt himself responding and knew she could feel it, too.

"Feels good?" she asked, her voice huskier than it had been a moment before.

"Mm-hmmm."

She turned her head and kissed his neck, sending a shiver through him that she could feel, too. He heard her chuckle, and felt her hand slide under his shirt.

"Castle?"

"Hmmm?"

"Are the lights on?"

"The lamp by the bed is."

"Turn it off."

He reached over and did what she told him, clicking the lamp off and putting _him_ in the dark now, too. Beckett leaned away from him for a moment, and in the darkness he could feel her taking her shirt off, although he couldn't see anything. Before he even realized he was doing it, he'd reached out and was touching her. Se made a soft noise of approval and reached for his shirt, tugging it up and over his head. He automatically tried to help her and gasped sharply when the motion jarred his injured hand.

"What's wrong?" she asked, hearing the noise.

"Nothing," he lied, using his other hand to pull his shirt off and toss it to the floor. He leaned over her, his weight resting on his good hand while he unerringly found her lips with his, kissing her gently at first and then more passionately as she responded to him.

Her hand slid along his chest, his belly and then lower and he tensed, feeling her smile against his lips when she felt his reaction to her touch.

"Like that, do you?" she asked, playfully.

"Oh, yes…" he kissed her again, then moved lower to nuzzle his lips against her ear and then her neck, and heard her soft moan. The noise excited him almost as much as her touch was, and he unthinkingly leaned over further, intending to see just how many more moans he could draw from her, when he lost his balance and had to catch himself with his injured hand. He yelped as the wrist gave way and he collapsed on her, the pain making him ignore the soft flesh his face was pressed against as he tried to catch his breath against the agony that had forced it out of him.

"Rick?"

She started to sit up and he shifted, resting his weight once more on his good arm.

"It's nothing," he repeated, moving to kiss her again.

"Like hell," she retorted. There was no missing the agony in his voice, and the shortness of breath that she knew could only be caused by a lot of pain. "What's wrong?"

"My hand…"

She took hold of him, supporting him as she sat up and helped him upright as well.

"Which one?" she asked, running her hands carefully down both arms. "Never mind." She could feel the difference in his left wrist immediately; it was badly swollen. "How did you do _that_?"

"Hit the coffee table," he admitted, gasping when she ran her hand along the swollen area. It was all he could do not to jerk his hand out of her grasp, but he knew that would probably hurt it more.

"It could be broken," Beckett told him. "We'd better get you to the emergency room and have it checked."

"It's fine, Kate," he told her, and she could hear a mingle of frustration and pain in his voice – which made her smile. There was no doubt in her mind right then what he thought was the priority at the moment. "I want-"

"It could get worse if we don't get it checked," she interrupted. "Find my shirt and then get dressed."

He groaned, which told her exactly what he thought of that idea, but she felt him stretch toward the side of the bed, and heard the lamp click on. There was a moment of silence and she realized he was almost certainly looking at her.

"You're beautiful," he murmured, confirming that guess, and despite the fact that he was hurt, she was tempted to finish what they'd started, just because of the simple sincerity in his statement. They could probably figure out a way…

Instead she smiled, and squeezed his good hand tenderly.

"Let's get you to the hospital," she told him. "We can finish this conversation another time."

"It's not the _conversation_ I want to finish," he replied, and then he kissed her and with a groan got out of her bed.


	18. Chapter 18

_Author's note: Okay, the rating is going up to M now. I'm not certain just how graphic things will get, but here is the warning in case there are younger people reading._

OOOOOOOOOOO

Despite the ache in his wrist, Castle drove them to the hospital himself rather than allow her to call someone in to drive him. They had a very short wait in the emergency room, since Doctor Blaine was just starting her morning shift and found out the two were there and brought them back herself. She turned Castle over to a radiologist to have his arm x-rayed and then since she had her handy, she changed Beckett's bandages and checked the healing around her eyes – although she didn't allow her to try to open them. By the time they were finished, Blaine saw Castle being walked back into the exam room that he'd been assigned, and she put a hand on Beckett's elbow to steer her that direction, too.

"All done?" she asked the radiologist, who nodded and handed her the envelope with the x-rays he'd just taken.

"Yes."

Castle reached out with his good hand and caught Beckett's hand, pulling her over so she could sit beside him instead of stand and she took him up on the silent offer, sitting easily next to him, resting her hand lightly on his leg as he watched Blaine walk over to the lighted wall and hang up the x-rays. It took her less than a minute to make the diagnosis.

"It's broken, all right…" she told them, looking over her shoulder at him. "But it's a clean break. I'll have it set, put a cast on it and you should be out of here soon. Probably won't even lose use of it, if you're careful."

"That's good news," Beckett said, patting Castle's thigh and sounding relieved. "Nothing worse than a writer who can't type, after all. Right?"

Blaine smiled.

"True."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

He drove them back to her place later, with a stop at a drive through to get a quick and easy breakfast for them. The shiny white cast on his left wrist and hand gleamed in the dim light of the interior of the car, but Beckett couldn't see it. She _had_ taken a moment to run her fingers along it once it'd been put on him, however, and he'd borrowed a marker from the admitting desk so she could be the first to sign it. She had tried to decline the offer; she couldn't see to sign it, but he'd argued that he could close his eyes and write his name, and she could too. So she'd signed it, and he'd told her it was perfect.

With several breakfast sandwiches and a couple of orange juices in hand, he and Beckett walked into the apartment a few hours after they'd left, and Beckett heard him close the door, and then lock the inside chain behind them. She turned away from him before she smiled, and with her hand out in front of her to keep from slamming into a wall, she walked into her bedroom.

"Do you want to eat in here?" Castle asked from the living room.

"No. In bed." She sat down with a sigh and heard him follow her in and then felt him sit down beside her. A moment later he pressed a cup of orange juice into her hand and she thanked him. "How's your hand?"

"It's okay," he assured her.

"What did Blaine say about your eyes?"

"Nothing, she just changed the bandages."

"Are they healing right?"

She shrugged.

"She said everything looked good… but doctor's have to say that, right?"

He leaned over and kissed her temple, reassuringly.

"I'm sure everything is fine, Kate. If something didn't look right, she would have said something."

Beckett wasn't so sure, but she didn't argue with him. Instead, she leaned a little sideways, against him, and felt him put his arm around her and rest his chin on the top of her head. She sighed, but didn't want to be reassured just then. She pulled away just a little, and made a show of looking his direction even though she couldn't see him.

"Castle…"

"Hmmm?"

"You spilled on your shirt."

He looked down automatically, before he realized that even if he _had_ spilled on himself there was no way she could have seen it.

"What?"

"You should take it off…"

He hesitated, but then smiled, figuring it out.

"Yeah. I should." With a fluid motion he moved just enough to keep from braining her with his elbow and pulled his shirt off. Beckett reached out and touched his arm, and he held still, letting her run her fingers along his shoulder and then his chest, knowing that it was the next best thing to being able to see him. When she brushed against his stomach, though, he felt his breath catch in his chest, much to her amusement.

"Breathe, Castle."

He took a deep breath, and then his uninjured hand came up and cupped her chin, tenderly, holding her still so he could kiss her. She murmured a pleased noise against his lips and dropped her orange juice, spilling it in his lap. Luckily, the lid stayed on and there was minimal spilling. He caught it with his hand and without looking he set it on the stand by the bed. Then he pulled back, but slowly.

"Kate?"

"Hmmm…?"

"You spilled on yourself," he told her. "Your shirt is soaked."

"I did?"

She hadn't felt anything.

"You _did_. Let me help you with that…"

She felt his hands on the hem of her shirt, and with a slight smile she lifted her arms, silently giving him permission. A moment later she felt him pull her shirt off.

"Oh, all the way through," he whispered, his voice warm and soft in her ear. "We better take this off before you get a chill…" He reached around and untried to unhook her bra, fumbling a little since his hand had the cast on it. Beckett chuckled, and slipped off the offending garment for him and was amused by his murmured approval when she toss it aside.

Her hands went to his face, a palm on each cheek as she tried to give herself an idea where he was facing, and what he wanted from her first. The answer was almost immediate; she felt his lips claim hers again, and his arms come around her. With a shiver of excitement that came from the knowledge that the door was locked and there wasn't anything to interrupt them, Beckett leaned away from him, and pulled him down onto the bed with her.


	19. Chapter 19

Later - and how much later, Beckett couldn't really tell, for obvious reasons - she was curled up with him, bare skin against bare skin, with her arm draped over his belly and his hand resting on her hip. He was most likely asleep, she decided, considering how relaxed he was beside her and the steady even breathing she could hear in the ever present darkness. She was pretty sure she'd dozed off, as well, but only for a little while, and only because he'd worn her out. She smiled, and stopped herself from stretching contentedly so she wouldn't wake him up. What had she been so nervous about? Castle had been a considerate lover - he was, like almost every man she'd ever dated, a breast man, and she'd had no complaints about the amount of attention he'd lavished on hers with his hands, fingers and then lips and tongue. And _then_ when his attentions had moved lower…

She shivered, and felt his arm tighten on her, pulling her close in response.

"Are you awake?" she heard him whisper.

"Mmm-hmmm…" Beckett tucked her head on his shoulder.

"Cold?"

"No."

She felt him pull the blankets up a little bit and tuck them around her anyway, and then felt him slide his hand along her hip and her rear, idly. It felt good; sensual, and she stretched against him leisurely, taking her time to wake up.

"Thank you," he murmured, sounding tired and maybe just a bit satiated.

She tilted her head up toward his face, even though she couldn't see him.

"For what?"

"Trusting me."

His lips claimed hers, gently, and she returned the kiss readily before pulling away just an inch or so.

"Thank _you_," she told him.

"For what?" he asked.

She brought her hand up to his face, wishing she could see his expression. He'd flirted with her from the day they'd met. Made no bones about the fact that he was attracted to her and was more than interested in a physical relationship with her. Now she'd given him what he wanted, and she wished she could see if his expression was smug, or if it was as soft as gentle as his voice was just then. She trusted him, though, and knew that if he _was_ smug it would only be later to tease her, and he'd almost certainly not do anything like that until her bandages came off and he didn't think she was so vulnerable.

"I'll tell you later," she promised, brushing her fingers along his cheek and then his chin and his lips. She could feel his face move as he smiled, and felt him kiss her fingers.

"You're beautiful, Kate Beckett…"

She smiled, self consciously, and ran her fingers through her hair.

"I probably look a mess."

"Not at all," he assured her. "You've never looked better."

"Because I'm _naked_?" she asked, with only a little bit of challenge in her tone.

"That's part of it," he admitted, and she felt him shift beside her until she knew he was looming over her, his body above hers as it had been when he'd taken her earlier. His chest brushed against her breasts as he leaned down enough to kiss her, just for a moment. "But you're beautiful fully dressed, too, just so you know."

Beckett wrapped her arms around him and he lowered himself carefully, more to protect his casted wrist than to keep from squishing her under him, and she felt him moving his leg to use it to catch some of his weight. She shifted under him, not at all self-conscious at the deliciously intimate contact, and her hand brushed against his belly. She didn't need her hand to tell him he was becoming aroused again. She could feel him against her.

"What now, Kate?" he asked her, pressing a series of butterfly kisses against her cheek and forehead.

"A bath?"

It wasn't what he expected to hear, and she could feel him tense above her. He lifted just a little, pulling himself away from her and she stopped him before he could misunderstand.

"With you in it, Rick," she told him.

He chuckled, and she could hear the relief in it, even if she couldn't see his expression. He kissed her again and then she felt him get off her.

"I'll go start the water," he told her. "You-" Her cell phone rang from somewhere beside the bed and she felt him shift on the bed to presumably reach for it. Then she felt it pressed into her hand. "It's Lanie. You answer it and I'll come get you when the water is ready."

"Okay."

She'd answered her cell phone half asleep and even in agony, so there was no problem doing what he said - and he obviously knew it wouldn't be.

"Hello?"

_"Good morning."_ Lanie's voice was cheerful and wide awake. Beckett felt sleepy.

"Morning."

Obviously her voice sounded sleepy, too.

_"Did I wake you?"_

"No."

_"But you're still in bed?"_

"Yeah. We were up late last night."

_"Oh?"_ There were a million questions in that single word, and Beckett could hear a ton of speculation as well and she smiled, blushing.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Lanie. We were at the hospital."

_"What?"_

"Yeah."

_"Are you okay?"_

Kate's smile grew at the way she automatically assumed it had been Beckett who was the injured party.

"I wasn't the patient. Castle was. He tripped on something and hit the coffee table - broke his wrist."

_"Are you serious?"_

"Yeah."

_"Is _he_ okay?"_

"Yeah. They put a cast on it and gave him something for the pain, but he's fine."

_"Should I come over?"_

That was the last thing Kate wanted, truth to tell. She shook her head, even though she knew Lanie wouldn't see it.

"I think I'm going to take a bath and go back to bed." Total truth, all of it.

_"All right. Give me a call if you need anything."_

"I think we'll just lounge around today," Beckett told her. "But if we need you, we'll call."

Lanie hung up and Beckett ended the call before putting the phone in the drawer of the stand by her bed. Then she stretched again, feeling just a few aches that actually felt good.

"Everything okay?" Castle's voice asked, coming from the bedroom doorway.

"Yeah."

"Is she coming over?"

"No. I told her we were at the hospital late, and that I was going to take a bath and then probably go to bed or spend the day lounging around. Sound about right?"

"Sounds perfect."


	20. Chapter 20

_Author's note: okay, I deleted it twice accidentally and then the site deleted it once, but it's finally here! (and it's a bit more graphic, so be warned)_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"They doing okay?" Esposito asked when Lanie hung up the phone and turned to him.

She nodded.

"Castle tripped over the coffee table and broke his arm last night."

"Seriously?"

"Kate said he did."

"We going over there?"

Lanie shook her head, and rejoined him in his bed.

"She says they're fine, and she doesn't plan to do anything more than take a bath and go back to bed."

He stretched lazily, careful not to hit her with his cast.

"That sounds like a pretty good plan."

"You're being lazy," she chided with a smile. "Ryan is working this all by himself, and you want to lounge in bed?"

"I'm _wounded_…"

Kind of.

"Pfft." she rapped him on the shoulder and leaned over to kiss him. "Go give him a call and make sure he's not feeling too abandoned, and I'll make us brunch."

"An offer I can't refuse."

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Castle couldn't help the sigh of contentment as he settled into the water and leaned back against the slanted end of the tub.

"You know… in retrospect, I'm almost _glad_ that your apartment was blown up."

Beckett leaned back, cautiously, and he used his good hand to support her as she leaned into him, her back against his belly and chest, the back of her head resting on his shoulder.

"Why do you say that?" she asked him curiously, resting her right forearm on his right knee and sighing as well as the hot water started relaxing her almost immediately.

"This tub is bigger than the old one."

She chuckled and he smiled at the sound, bringing his one good arm around her to pull her even closer. She wasn't actually _in _his lap - which wouldn't have been all that comfortable given their position - but _he _was her backrest, and her _armrests _as well, when her left hand went along his leg and ended up on his left knee.

"Is your cast still dry?" she asked, hearing the rustle of the kitchen garbage bag he'd used to protect the cast from the water of the bath. A trick he'd learned from research, he told her when he asked her where she kept the bags rather than rummage through the entire kitchen. She was always impressed by what he knew.

"It's fine," he assured her, running his good hand along her breasts, simply because he knew she'd let him. Sure enough, she caught his hand with one of hers, and instead of pushing it away, she guided it along her body, telling him without words where she wanted him to touch her the most. Castle closed his yes and leaned his head against the little plastic pillow that she used when she soaked in the tub and idly caressed her. The position they were in had aroused him - and there was definitely no way she could miss that - but not urgently so, and there wasn't any hurry. The two of them had all day to spend together, and he was planning on enjoying it as much as she'd let him - and making sure _she _enjoyed it as well.

As if Beckett understood that, he felt her relax against him, her hands running along his legs since he obviously didn't need any more direction from her, and her hair fanning along his chest and shoulder.

"Soap this up for me, Kate, will you?" he asked eventually, reaching for a poof and the body wash he'd set close by before getting them into the water and putting it in her hand. While she manipulated it to get the bubbles going, he let his hand cup her breast once more, teasing her lightly with his thumb and nuzzling her ear just to feel her shiver at the sensation - which she did. He took the poof from her and told her to relax, chuckling because he was the one who was making her tense.

Taking his time, he soaped her up, his hand roaming her body freely, under water and above it, washing her but at the same time caressing her. He figured that not being able to see would limit her somewhat in their loving, because it would be hard for her to take the initiative - especially if she was worried about falling on her face and breaking the mood. He didn't mind, though, and had decided that he'd take the lead for now and let her decide what she could do and what she'd wait on for another time. Besides, this way he got to touch her as much as he wanted, and he definitely wasn't going to complain about that!

By the time he'd soaped her up and then rinsed her off, Beckett had decided that a bath had probably been the best idea ever. Facing away from him like she was, there wasn't any way she could have seen his expression as he'd explored every part of her he could reach, but with the bandages she wouldn't have been able to see his expression anyway. She didn't need to, though. She could feel him throbbing against her lower back and knew she was the cause of it.

"Do you want me to wash your hair?" he asked her when they had both been washed.

She smiled.

"One-handed? No way."

"I _could_."

"No. It's fine."

She felt him press his face against her hair and her smile grew. He was trying to make things easy for her, she knew, but there was no need to. She was fine, and enjoying his company as much as he was enjoying hers. She turned in his grasp - not hard since she was slick with the soap residue and he only had one hand that he could use - and managed to straddle his thighs without doing anything worse than bumping her nose on his chest. Facing him, now, she tried to kiss him, missed and kissed his chin instead. He chuckled and lifted her chin so he could kiss her properly and Beckett put one arm around him, reveling in the sensation of finally being in his arms, and with the other she reached down between them and caught hold of him, causing his breath to catch in his chest and his arm to tighten around her.

"Kate…"

It was the sound of utter satisfaction and she smiled against his chest, her hand stroking him, measuring the length and width of him as he swelled further in her hand. She wanted to see his expression so badly!

"_Kate…"_

Now his need was more urgent, and that was her doing, of course. She wasn't going to tease him, though. Not for something like this. With an easy motion she lifted and a moment later they both made satisfied noises as he slid inside her once more.

"Better?" she asked, bringing both arms around his neck for a more secure hold on him.

She felt him kiss her neck and ear as he began moving his hips under her, and she gasped with the dual sensation of his touch.

"It's perfect," he assured her.

She couldn't agree more.


	21. Chapter 21

By the time they were finished in the bathtub both of them were very wrinkled and pretty hungry. Castle found her a pair of sweats and t-shirt to lounge in and dressed himself similarly and then the two went into the kitchen where Beckett sat at the island and kept him company while he made them a hearty lunch of sandwiches, chips and fruit. As they ate he read the morning paper to her, commenting on pretty much every article if it was something that interested her and listening with interest whenever the article provoked a response or comment from her as well. They were just cleaning up when Alexis called to check in with him and Beckett could hear the smile in his voice when he realized who was calling and answered it.

The conversation wasn't long, and she noticed that he didn't mention that he'd managed to hurt himself, but he did tell her that he was hanging out with Beckett, and immediately Alexis had asked to talk to her. Castle had given her the phone and kissed her ear, tenderly, (and quietly) and had told her that he needed to put the dishes in the dishwasher. Alexis started telling Beckett about the cruise so far – it was nearly over – and all the sights she'd seen.

"Ask her about Ashley," Castle suggested, loud enough for Alexis to hear.

Beckett didn't need to ask anything; Alexis was always willing to discuss her boyfriend and for several more minutes she told the detective what the two of them had been doing on the ship – a version that was probably at least slightly edited since Alexis had to know her dad was going to ask Beckett about it. She didn't mind; Alexis was a cheerful girl and even if Beckett had been in a grumpy, lousy mood, she'd have been cheered immediately. As it was, she was amused and charmed by the girl's narration and found that she was smiling when Castle returned from cleaning to claim his phone once more.

"You're having fun, then?" she heard him ask, his voice just as amused as she felt. Even Beckett could hear Alexis' response, and then she must have told Castle she had to go, because he ended the call not much later with a hasty I love you and a promise to be around when she called next.

Both of them were in a decidedly good mood when Castle took Beckett's arm in his and walked her to the couch, claiming he was tired and ready to get off his feet for a while.

"How's the wrist?" Beckett asked as she settled on the sofa, waited for him to sit beside her and then cuddled against him.

"It aches a bit," he admitted. He put his arm around her, and she noticed it was the one without the cast. "It's not too bad, though. How's your head?"

"Doesn't hurt much."

"Good."

"I should call and see if Ryan's found anything out," Beckett told him, sliding her hand idly along his stomach. "With Esposito down, too, he's flying solo and it's not really fair to leave it all up to him."

Castle had Ryan on his speed dial, so it was simply a matter of him hitting the right button and handing his phone over to Beckett. Since she was using Castle's phone it was understandable that when Ryan answered he thought he was talking to the writer.

"Hi, Castle, how's the wrist?"

"How did you know about his wrist?" Beckett asked, curiously.

"Beckett! How are you doing? And what are you doing with _Castle's_ phone?"

"I'm fine," she answered. "His was closer than mine. How did you know about his wrist?"

"Javier came by a little bit ago to check on the investigation and told me. How's Castle?"

"Clumsy," Beckett replied, squeezing Castle's knee so he would know she was just teasing him. "What have you learned about the bomber?"

"Not a lot. We have plenty of suspects and of course no motive besides someone wants to blow up cops. I've been doing live interviews, but it's going slow. Sorry."

Beckett smiled.

"I'm sure you're doing the best you can."

"Javie said he's going to come in for a while tomorrow to help me, but I'm not sure taking him on the interviews is a good idea…"

"Yeah, I see what you mean. He'd be a trophy for the bomber if you guys stumbled on the right person."

"Might make him want to see who else he can blow up."

"Right." Beckett hesitated, thinking. "Castle could help you."

"Not with his wrist broken," Ryan replied. "Our bomber might think he or she did it, and we'd be back at the trophy thing…"

Good point. Beckett sighed, and Ryan heard it.

"It's okay, Beckett," he assured her. "Captain Montgomery is assigning some help. Don't worry about me. We'll figure it out."

"If you need me call, though."

"Will do."

Beckett handed the phone over to Castle, who ended the call, and she sighed as she put her head in his lap and stretched out fully on the couch, getting more comfortable. Castle leaned back against the cushions of the sofa, but rested his hand on her stomach, tapping his fingers on her as he tried to catch a stray thought that had been niggling at him for a while, but was pushed to the back of his mind in favor of all the other things that were going on just then.

"Castle?" Beckett spoke up, breaking his train of thought just as he almost had put his finger on whatever it was. He looked down and saw that she was looking up at him – or would have been if she could see.

"Hmm?"

"You owe me a story."

He smiled.

"A _mystery_?"

She nodded.

"That's fine."

It was the only kind he could make up on the spot, really.

"Get comfortable, then, and I'll tell you an adventure of Lachline McHappershap, Inspector for the famous Scotland Yard."

Beckett smiled.

"Why do I get the feeling you've used this character before?"

"I invented him for Alexis."

"I've never read anything with-"

"_Just_ for Alexis," he told her, interrupting. "And now for _you_. He's a bedtime story fellow I made up."

If anything her smile grew.

"Did you save the stories somewhere?"

They'd definitely be worth reading.

He shook his head, even though she couldn't see it.

"I've never actually finished one. Alexis always fell asleep before we got very far."

"I'll stay awake," she promised him, sliding her hand down his arm so she could find his hand and hold it.

"Okay." He was quiet for a minute, thinking of a plot line – he was a _writer_, it was what he did for a living – and so it didn't take long. "It was a cold, blustery day on the moor, and Inspector Lachline McHappershap looked down at the footprint in the soggy grass with interest, trying to decide if it was a footprint left by the dead man laying in the bottom of the ravine, or if it belonged to someone who might have possibly pushed that man to his certain death…"

He went on to weave a story, his voice low and soothing, and Beckett understood almost immediately why he'd never had to finish one of his tales. Despite her best intentions – and interest in the story he was telling her – she fell asleep before the good Inspector even figured out how the man in the ravine had died.


	22. Chapter 22

Castle didn't finish his story. Once he was sure Beckett was asleep – she was snoring lightly and so relaxed there was absolutely no doubt she was out – he allowed himself a chance to sleep, too. He would have carried her to bed – with him right beside her when she woke up he was sure there wouldn't be a repeat of the panic attack that she'd had before – but he wasn't sure he could carry her with his hand in the cast and he didn't want to risk dropping her. It didn't matter, though. He could tell she was comfortable and with her so close, he was comfortable too. He closed his eyes and drifted off almost immediately.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"This is _ridiculous_."

Esposito looked over at his partner, who looked buried behind a large stack of paperwork.

"What is?"

"There are still almost 40 people to interview and even with the help Montgomery gave me, it's still going to take a week to get through these interviews."

"I offered to help."

"I know, and I've told you why you can't – and Beckett and the captain both agree with me. You're not even supposed to be here; you're supposed to be home resting and getting better."

"It's a _broken arm_," Esposito told him, rolling is eyes. Granted, it was nice having a day or two off – especially with Lanie to spend it with him – but he was tired of being off, now, and ready to get to work. "I can at least go through the files – that will cut some of your workload."

Ryan hesitated, and then shrugged. Beckett was home recuperating and Montgomery was gone for the day. No one would know if he let Javier help him. No would care. Besides, he was tired and wanted the help.

"Fine. You can do that."

Esposito obviously had expected an argument, because he looked a little surprised at the ready acquiescence .

"Good. And while I'm sorting these for you, why don't you go home?"

"What?"

"It's getting late and you look beat." Which was true. "These can wait until tomorrow." Also true.

Ryan looked tempted – a sure sign that he was just as tired as he looked. Otherwise he would argue and say he was fine.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, bro. Go home for a while."

"Thanks."

Esposito nodded opened the first file, while Ryan reached for his coat.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Castle woke with a start, his hand reaching automatically for Beckett as he did so. She was still asleep, but a glance at his watch told him that they'd napped for a few hours at least and he needed to talk to her. The idea that had been bobbing around on the edge of his consciousness for the last day or so had finally jumped into his sleeping mind with such clarity that it had woken him up.

"Kate?"

He whispered her name and gently shook her shoulder at the same time, and he was rewarded by her rolling over onto her other side and burying her face into his side.

"Kate? Wake up a minute, will you?"

"Hmmm…?"

She didn't turn her head, but at least she answered. It was good enough for him.

"When a body is discovered, it's common practice that no one touches it until the Medical Examiner does, right?"

"What?"

She turned her head, now, even though she couldn't look up at him. It was just habit.

"The Medical Examiner is the first person to look at a dead body if one is discovered. Right?"

"Right. So the evidence isn't disturbed or contaminated."

"So… what if the bomber wasn't trying to kill a cop?" Castle asked. "What if he was gunning for an ME instead – only she got a flat tire and was late…?"

Beckett's head came off his leg and she sat up.

"Oh, my God, Castle… you're right… _Lanie_ was the target…"

"_Maybe_."

"It fits."

"It's circumstantial at best," he cautioned. "But if we can find a link between the names Ryan has and Lanie, then we might be able to figure out who set the bomb."

She nodded.

"We need to get to the station."

She was about as animated as he'd seen her recently. And also not dressed for company, really.

"Um… you should probably change first…"

And he should, too.

"Go get me something to wear?"

He kissed her cheek and got up and headed for her room.

"Be right back."

OOOOOOOOOO

The precinct wasn't deserted – it was never deserted – but it was slow and almost empty due to the late hour. Esposito heard the ding of the elevator but didn't think much about it until he heard a few greetings from the other detectives and staff that were there with him. He looked up to see who was causing the commotion and was surprised to see Castle walking toward him with Beckett's hand in his, guiding her through the desks with softly murmured directions when there was a chair to avoid. Esposito stood up as they reached his desk, but his smile of greeting faltered at the look on Castle's face.

"Hey guys…"

Castle started to say something, but Beckett spoke up first.

"Is Ryan here, too?"

"I sent him home to get some sleep."

"Where's Lanie?"

"She's at her place checking on how the repairs are going. She said she'd meet me back here. Why?"

"We think the bomber might not have been after a cop," Castle told him. "He might have been after Lanie."

"Or any ME," Beckett quickly added. "The only reason we got caught in that bomb is that Lanie had that flat tire and was late getting in…"

Esposito's eyebrows went up.

"That's true, isn't it?"

Castle nodded.

"We figure we can look at the people Ryan had on his list and reference them with Lanie and see if anyone has a connection…"

"Who'd want to hurt her?" Esposito asked, a little skeptically.

"There are all kinds of weirdoes," Castle reminded him.

"I'll call her and get her back here," Esposito said, already reaching for his phone with his good arm.

"Good." Beckett realized she wasn't going to be a lot of help looking through files or searching through the computer and held her hand out. "Actually, hand me your phone and I'll talk to her while you guys start cross referencing."

Esposito did what she told him and then looked over at Castle as Beckett sat down.

"How's the hand?"

Castle flashed him a smile and brandished his gleaming white cast.

"Broken. Want to sign the cast?"

"Sure." He grabbed up a marker and frowned at the writing already on the cast. "Who's _Becky_?"

Castle gave him an admonishing look, but he also smiled.

"That's Beckett…"


	23. Chapter 23

Esposito grinned and put his own name on Castle's cast. He had already let Lanie and Ryan sign his and he knew that it was hard to write on the rough texture – small wonder that Beckett had ended up faltering at the end.

"Now you sign mine," he said, handing the pen over to Castle, who took it and neatly wrote his name.

The writer smiled at his odd expression.

"I do autographs all the time," he reminded the detective. "And you wouldn't believe some of the things they want me to sign."

"Good point."

Beckett ended the call she was on and turned toward the sound of their voices – the closest she could come to looking at them.

"Lanie's on her way back here," she told them. "Have you noticed anyone following you guys or anything suspicious since the bombing?"

Esposito shook his head, realized that she couldn't see the motion and spoke up.

"No. But truthfully, I haven't been paying attention."

"You'd probably notice something odd, though," Beckett replied. "Things out of the ordinary would get your attention."

"True."

"So we'll assume if there's someone out for Lanie that they're not to the point of actually stalking her."

"But I'll keep a closer eye on her," Esposito said.

"We can get a detail on her, if she wants. Between you and a uni – or two, maybe – she should be well protected."

"Let's wait and see what we can find," Esposito answered. "I don't want to freak her out if we can avoid it."

"It might still have been someone after a cop," Castle pointed out, and Beckett could hear him sit down in the chair beside her desk. In her mind's eye she could picture his expression; calculating and curious like it always was when he was confronted with a case. "We don't want to lose focus of one thing just because it might be something else."

She heard the soft thump that could only be a stack if files.

"Let's get to looking, then," Esposito said from the other side of her. "You look through these, and I'll start a computer search."

"Sounds good," was Castle's reply. She could hear Esposito walk away, and Castle rustling the papers as he opened the first file, and Beckett suddenly realized that there was absolutely nothing she could do to help. Without being able to see she couldn't help with the computer search, or the paper trail. For that matter, she couldn't even bring the guys a cup of coffee for fear of tripping over something and spilling it. She felt a lump closing her throat and tried very hard to keep her expression even, knowing that Castle would be able to tell in an instant if there was something bothering her. If the blindness _wasn't_ temporary, there was no way she could keep on being a detective. She needed to be able to see to be a cop.

"Kate?"

Castle's voice startled her out of her unpleasant realization, and she cleared her throat, trying to keep her voice steady when she answered.

"Yes?"

It hadn't worked. She could feel her bottom lip trembling when she spoke and her voice had broken on the single word.

His hand touched hers, squeezing it reassuringly, but he didn't comment and she appreciated it. She didn't want empty words of encouragement just then, but she did tighten her hand around his for a moment.

"Do you remember looking at the crowd?" he asked, clearly changing the subject that they hadn't even broached. "I always notice you looking at the people that are in the crowd watching when we show up…"

"I didn't see anyone suspicious," she replied. "No one that stands out in my mind…"

"Think about it, though," he told her, squeezing her hand once more before he let it go and started ruffling the papers once more. "You might remember seeing someone watching a little more intently than anyone else was, or something."

"Did you see anyone?" she challenged.

"No," he admitted. "But then, _I'm_ not a trained detective, either, remember."

She heard the smile in his voice, and it made her feel a little better. And it gave her something to focus on besides crying to herself about what she couldn't do. The room grew quiet as he started reading through files and she thought back to the people in the crowd.

OOOOOOOOOO

Lanie arrived about half an hour later. She went over to check on Beckett before doing anything else, and felt a pang of worry when she saw her friend sitting there at her desk, bandages still covering her eyes and seemingly doing nothing but sitting while Castle was busy reading a file as he sat at the chair by her desk. She walked over and announced herself so Beckett would know she was there.

"Any luck?"

Beckett shrugged.

"Not on my end," she replied. She explained what she was doing, and knew she hadn't managed to keep the despair out of her voice when she felt Lanie put her hand on her shoulder and squeeze it reassuringly.

"Another couple of days, Kate, and you'll have the bandages off and be able to help like you're used to…"

Beckett only sighed her frustration, and had a feeling Lanie and Castle were exchanging a look.

"How's the arm, Castle?" Lanie asked a moment later, tactfully changing the subject.

"It's okay," came the reply. "Aches a little…"

"You look tired."

"I'm fine."

That made Kate wonder just how tired he looked, and made her feel even worse. He was pretty much taking care of her, and it was easy to forget in the novelty of having so much of his attention that he'd been hurt in the bomb blast, too, and was now nursing that broken wrist. It seemed every time she needed him he was with her, but it made her wonder all of the sudden just how much sleep he was managing to get.

Of course, part of his sleeplessness was because of the newly awakened physical side of their relationship – which was very satisfying, indeed – but she'd have to make sure he got some sleep sometime soon.

"Want some coffee?" Lanie asked.

She nodded, and carefully stood up.

"I'll come with you."

"Castle?"

"Please."


	24. Chapter 24

There was always coffee made at the precinct. Cops went through a lot of it, after all, and it was a tough enough job without having to drink cold or stale coffee, so they were always pretty good about starting more if they finished the pot. However, with the addition of the state of the art coffee machine that Castle had brought in with him when he'd started shadowing Beckett, the coffee went from decent to amazing just like that. Lanie led Kate through the obstacle course of desks and chairs over to the coffee machine and started making them all something fresh to drink. Beckett felt for the counter and then leaned against it with a sigh that she didn't bother to try to hide, and Lanie looked over at her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"You mean aside from being at a police station and not being able to do any police work?" Beckett asked, her voice heavy with sarcasm and bitterness.

Lanie wasn't offended at all. She understood.

"Do you want me to take you home?"

"No. I want to do my job."

"But you can't…"

"And it's killing me…"

"I know." Lanie hesitated, finishing up Esposito's coffee. "Do _you_ think the bomb was meant for me?"

Beckett could hear the fear in her friend's tone, even though she was probably trying to hide it. She knew if Lanie was asking the question then she deserved as much honesty as Kate could give her.

"I don't, no. It would be too hard for someone to specifically target one particular Medical Examiner when we have several and you guys work on a rotating schedule. However, it's a _possibility_, and because it is, it's something we should look into."

"Are they going to put a protection team on me?"

"Do you want one?"

Lanie shook her head.

"I have Javier."

And she didn't want to have to watch her activities with him just on the off chance that some other officer might be peeking in the window as part of his protection duties.

Beckett nodded.

"He's enough protection, even with the cast…"

"I agree."

"But we'll put a detail on the other medical examiners in your rotation – just to be safe. We can take them off once we catch the guy."

"Okay." Lanie took a sip of Esposito's coffee and decided it was too sweet for his taste. She took another sip, because it was perfect as far as she was concerned. "So, how are you and Castle doing?"

"He's being amazing and I'm developing an acute fear of the dark…"

Again with the bitterness, but if she couldn't vent to Lanie, who could she vent to? Luckily, her friend didn't mind.

"Is there anything I can do?"

Beckett shook her head.

"He's taking good care of me." And then some! But she wasn't going to mention _that_. "Does he really look tired?" she asked. "I didn't even think about it, but he's always there when I ask for something. I can't imagine he's getting much sleep."

"He's probably enjoying the fact that he gets you to himself for so long," Lanie told her, her voice laced with amusement. Then she lowered it, conspiratorially. "Have you made any more passes at him?"

Beckett smiled, amused for the first time, but she could also feel a slight warmth to her cheeks that almost certainly meant she was blushing a little.

"No. Just the one."

"But…?"

"But nothing."

"Kate…" Lanie could tell there was more than 'nothing' going on. She was blushing, after all, and Beckett didn't blush at the drop of a hat. "Come on, you can tell me if there's anything going on, right?"

"Like you and Esposito did?"

Lanie made an exasperated noise, but Beckett only grinned. They would find out about her and Castle eventually; they wouldn't be able to hide the change in the relationship – and really there was no reason to – but it wasn't going to be tonight. Realizing she wasn't going to get anything out of her friend, Lanie gave up – for the moment – and they changed the subject back to the bomb and bomber as she finished making the coffee and carried it back to the guys.

Castle helped Beckett settle back in her chair, made sure she knew where her coffee was so she wouldn't spill it and then went back to the file he was reading – ignoring the look that Lanie tossed his direction. He hadn't been able to hear what her and Kate were talking about, but he was pretty sure that if she'd been told about their extracurricular activities she would have reacted in a way he'd have noticed. As it was, he'd let Kate decide who knew and who didn't. He definitely wasn't going to share any information with anyone.

Beckett still felt useless, but she picked up her desk phone and dialed a couple of numbers by feel, setting up the details on the rest of the ME s on the rotation with the watch command. She hung up the phone finally, and sighed silently to herself, thinking she should have just stayed home. She was more of a distraction than anything else here. She definitely wasn't helping.

Castle had been watching her surreptitiously as he'd been reading through the files in front of him, and he closed the one he'd been looking at when she leaned back in her chair exuding frustration and unhappiness.

"Kate?"

She turned toward him.

"Yes?"

"Why don't we go home? The computer search is going to be a lot faster than me browsing these manually and they don't really need me here."

She shook her head, feeling even worse. Now she was dragging him away from hands on police work – stuff she knew he loved to do. It was nice of him to offer, but she knew he'd rather be browsing the files.

"I'm okay," she told him.

"I'm tired."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But if you want to stay, I don't mind… we can-"

"No." she was relieved that he was actually admitting he was tired. She was tired of him taking care of her, and this way she could baby him a little, too. "I'm willing to go. My head is aching a little." Not exactly true, but it was as good a way to level things as any. "I could use an early night."

Castle stood up.

"I'll be right back." She heard him stand up and walk over to Esposito's desk and tell him and Lanie that they were going to head out and they'd see them in the morning. There were murmurs of agreement, and he was back at her desk in only a minute. She felt his hand on her shoulder. "Let's go."


	25. Chapter 25

The drive back to Beckett's was uneventful. The streets of New York were almost always busy, and especially this time of the evening when people were making their way from one form of entertainment to another – usually of the club or theater variety – and since Beckett could hear the traffic around them she didn't want to distract him by chatting him up as they drove. She did, however, rest her hand on his leg casually, enjoying the play of the muscles of his leg as he stepped on the gas and the brake – and the fact that she could do what she was doing without feeling self conscious about it as she would have only a few days before. He responded to that touch by putting his hand over hers when he wasn't using it to steer the car, and every time he took let her go he'd squeeze it briefly, probably not even realizing he was doing it.

He parked the car and offered her his arm to keep her steady as they walked to her apartment and he closed the door behind them.

"Are you hungry, Kate?" he asked her. "I could make us a sandwich or something…"

She shook her head, intending to tell him that she was fine, but her stomach had other ideas and growled so loudly that she knew there was no way he could have missed it. She heard him chuckle and couldn't help but smile.

"Maybe a sandwich…"

"We could have something more substantial," he told her, but Beckett shook her head.

"Sandwiches sound good."

She headed carefully toward the kitchen island where she could sit out of his way while he put their meal together and still be close enough to chat with him, and as she settled on the stool she could hear him gathering the ingredients out of the fridge and cupboards.

"Chips?"

"Potato salad?"

"You got it."

The clatter of more dishes followed, and it wasn't more than a few minutes before she heard him put a plate in front of her.

"Two sandwiches – just in case Lanie asks tomorrow if I'm feeding you enough – and the potato salad is at about the 6 o'clock position."

"Thanks," she told him, sincerely. "I owe you."

"It's just a sandwich, Kate," he told her, making an attempt at keeping things light when it was clear she was serious.

"You know what I mean," she said. "You're wearing yourself out taking care of me when you _should_ be taking care of yourself."

She heard him sit down on the stood beside him with a sigh he probably didn't mean for her to hear, but when he spoke his tone was completely sincere.

"I like taking care of you."

"But-"

"The only _good_ thing that has come out of the whole bomb thing is that I've had a chance to spend time with you," he interrupted. "Mind you, I'd rather you were healthy and whole, but if you were then you'd be working and it wouldn't be the same as it has been."

"Oh."

She wasn't sure what to say to that, but he definitely sounded like he meant it.

"Besides," he added. "With mother and Alexis gone, I'd have been pestering you nonstop anyway. I get lonely when the house is empty. You and the guys would have been ready to shoot me just to get rid of me by now…"

Beckett smiled at that.

"I wouldn't go that far…"

"We'll never know," he told her. She felt him lean over and brush a kiss against her temple. "Do you want something to drink?"

Clearly he was done with the conversation they were having, and Beckett didn't feel like pressing the issue – although she still felt that he was getting the short end of things as they stood just then. She'd just have to make it up to him later, when the bandages were off.

"Coffee?"

"I'll make some."

He got up and she turned her attention to her meal.

While the coffee brewed, Castle wolfed down his sandwiches while making small talk with her. Beckett ate slowly, not in any real hurry and more intent on not spilling anything, or dropping potato salad on the floor – or on herself. He finished eating about the same time that the coffee was done, and he poured her a cup, doctoring it the way she liked it without her even needing to tell him what she wanted.

"You _can_ go to bed, you know…?" she told him, once she'd taken an appreciative sip of her coffee. "I'll be okay." As he'd been talking with her she'd been listening to his voice as well as what he was saying, and she could hear that he was tired. He was almost certainly just staying up to keep her company, and while she liked that, she wanted him to get some sleep more than she needed his company.

It was a measure of just how tired he was that he didn't put up more than a token resistance to the idea.

"I don't mind."

She smiled.

"I know. I'm fine, though, and you sound tired. Just save me a spot."

"You'll be okay?"

"Yes."

"Okay." She heard him push the stool back and stand up. "Just leave your dishes where they are and I'll clean it up in the morning."

"I will."

He left the coffee pot near at hand, too, for her. After making sure she knew exactly where it was so she wouldn't burn herself with it if she decided she wanted a refill, he ran his hand along her shoulder and pressed a soft kiss against her ear.

"I'll leave the door open," he told her. "If you need anything just call."

She nodded but she had no intention of needing him so he could sleep. Instead, she caught his uninjured hand and squeezed it just for a moment before letting him go.

"I'll be in in a bit."

He left her alone, then, and she appreciated the way he trusted her judgment enough to let her decide that she didn't need his help and then just leave her alone. Yes, he left the door to the bedroom open, but that was all to the good as far as she was concerned, since she didn't want to run into it when she went to bed anyway. She sipped her coffee as she listened to him head into the bathroom first and then the bedroom. After a very short time the apartment was completely still and quiet.

It was a little lonely, actually.

Beckett forced herself to sip her coffee slowly, but she opted against another cup. She wasn't sure what time it was, but it was probably late, and even though she'd have the opportunity to sleep in if she wanted to – and she might – she didn't want to sit alone in the dark and brood. She made her way carefully across the room, stopped in the bathroom to slowly make her way through her nightly routine before feeling her way to the bedroom. Making as little noise as she could, she slipped out of her clothes and spoiled it all when she reached the bed a step earlier than she had figured she would and stumbled, falling across his sleeping form.

With a mumbled oof, he rolled sideways, his arm coming out automatically to hold her as he rolled her off of him and then pulled her against him to keep her from going off the other end of the bed.

"Kate?" he murmured, sleepily.

That amused her, and she chuckled, despite her annoyance at falling into bed.

"Who else?"

"Hmmm… good point…" He adroitly flipped the blankets down so she could join him under the covers, and then brought them back up over the two of them. Now she was spooned against him, her back into his belly and chest, and his arm holding her against him. "You okay?"

"Yes. Sorry I woke you…"

He buried his face against her neck, and she had a feeling he hadn't even opened his eyes.

"It's a good way to wake up," he assured her.

"Being squished?"

Castle ran his hand along her side, his fingers lightly caressing her as he did so.

"Having a naked woman fall into bed," he corrected, still sounding far more asleep than awake.

She started to chuckle, but his hand cupped her breast and his thumb found her nipple, causing her breath to catch in a soft gasp. It wasn't really a surprise that he was so very sensual; she'd read pretty much every love scene he'd ever written and there was no doubt that art imitated life, but she still couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised by his skill. Even the way he was caressing her body just then; he wasn't trying to seduce or arouse her, he was just touching her because he could, and because she was there, but she was really tempted to wake him up completely and have her way with him, despite the fact that he was worn out.

When his lips found her ear and his hand started sliding lower, Beckett sighed in pleasure and rolled in his grip until she was facing him, belly to belly. She'd let him sleep in come morning. Right now, she had other plans for their time together. To judge by the way he was suddenly pressing against her, he was waking up already and completely in agreement with her.


	26. Chapter 26

Tired he might have been, but Beckett had no complaints from the moment he pulled her closer. Castle seemed to understand without them actually discussing it that not being able to see him was making her more timid with their loving than might have normally been the case, and he compensated for that by being bold and taking the lead most of the time. This time was no different. She felt his fingers caressing her, touching and teasing until she was writhing in pleasure, and then his mouth replaced his hands and he drew gasps of pleasure from her until those soft sounds turned into moans of anticipation. He took her over the edge once, and then again before she felt him shifting one final time.

_"Yes…"_

His weight braced on his forearm, he covered her with his body and bent her knee with a hand under her leg. She felt his lips claims hers for a kiss and at the same time he entered her with a slow, almost lazy thrust that had them both gasping in pleasure. Beckett put her hands on his shoulders to ground herself, but he wasn't going to let her stay that way. He found his rhythm, gave her all the time she needed to match it, and then with slow thrusts that soon became more eager he carried both of them to dizzying heights and then over the top to a climax that left them both breathless.

He rested on her a moment, catching his breath, and then rolled to the side and pulled her with him, cuddling her up against his chest once again. Beckett felt limp with satiated exhaustion, but not tired. She curled up in his arms, her head resting on a pillow that was covering his casted forearm to keep from hurting her and her fingers making lazy patterns against his bare skin as she listened to their heartbeats slowing once more.

"A fine way to wake up," he murmured, causing her to chuckle.

They were silent for a long time. Long enough that she was certain he'd fallen asleep again, but she spoke up anyway, softly, figuring if he was asleep it wouldn't wake him but if he wasn't, then they could have an important - albeit almost certainly short - conversation.

"Rick?"

His hand tightened on her just a little, telling her that he was awake.

_"Hmmm…?"_

His voice told her that while he was awake, he wasn't _wide _awake by any means.

"I don't want to marry you."

_"Hmmm?"_

She slid her hand along his arm to his hand.

"I don't want to marry you."

"Mmm-kay…"

She caressed his hand lightly.

"I'm not really sure I even want to _date_ you," she told him, waiting to hear his response, and wondering if he really _was_ awake enough to have this conversation with.

"What _do _you want, Kate?" he asked her, softly, telling her that he was.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "I want _this_, though," she added. "The loving, the holding, the-" she stopped, biting down on the word _security_ because she thought he might take it to mean that she only wanted to be with him because of the blindness, and _that_ wasn't the case. "The companionship…" she said, instead.

She felt him grip tighten on her body just a moment in a hug, and his breath was warm on her cheek when he kissed her lightly.

"You can always have that, Kate. And _this_, if that's what you want."

"You don't mind?"

"That you don't know what you want?"

"Yeah…"

He chuckled softly, and kissed her again.

"Why _should_ you know?" he asked, and Beckett decided that he really wasn't upset or annoyed with her. All she could hear in his voice was love, and it felt good she had to admit. "You like to think things through," he continued. "I know that. Besides, _now _isn't the best time for you to make those kind of commitments, right?"

She nodded, and allowed herself to relax against him once more, surprised and gratified that he understood.

"Right."

Conversation over - for now, at least - he held her in his arms and caressed her lightly, willing her to relax even more and try to get some sleep so she could heal that much faster. He was tired, too, but his eyes refused to close as he felt her eventually go completely limp in his hold and heard her breathing level out until he was certain she was asleep. Lost in thought, he continued to stroke her, tenderly, and right before he closed his eyes he brushed his lips against her cheek once more.

"You'll forgive me if I hope for more, though, Kate…" he whispered so softly he wasn't even certain he said it aloud.

Only moments later, he was asleep, too.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

The apartment was large, airy and high enough up that it had a fairly nice view of the city lights below. At least it would have been a good view if not for the dark curtains that covered the windows, blocking the view as well as the sounds of traffic that might have come from below. None of that matter, though, to the man seated at the desk against the far wall.

The clock read well after 2am but he ignored that, as well, as he skimmed the internet, looking for the articles that would tell him what he wanted to know. The news stations and the papers had been completely unsatisfying to him the past few days; the information he'd been hoping to see wasn't in any articles, and when he'd called to the stations and to the papers they had all told him the same thing; the information wasn't available to the public - and that was not only frustrating, but infuriating as well.

"They can't keep me out," he muttered to himself as he tapped angrily at the keys. "No one can keep me out. So I didn't kill the stupid Medical Examiner this time… it doesn't mean anything. Maybe a bigger bomb… maybe poison…?"

He considered that - even ran a couple of searches on the web about what he might try to use - but had to discard the idea as impossible. He sighed, angrily, and tapped a few more keys. A webpage popped up, and he sat up straighter, his entire body tense as he looked at the weapons that were suddenly displayed in front of him. All illegal for him to own, but so what? Bombing a bunch of cops was illegal, too, even if he hadn't meant the bomb for them. What was one more crime?

Besides, if he did it right, he wouldn't even get caught.

Feeling smug, he brought up the page he'd bookmarked earlier that month and once more studied the face of the medical examiner he hated so much.

"Tell me this…" he whispered to the picture on the screen. "Are you bulletproof?"


	27. Chapter 27

A noise woke Beckett. Not something she was used to, otherwise it wouldn't have pulled her out of her sleep, but it also wasn't something that was so crazy odd that it jerked her awake with sudden panic. Instead, she found herself awake and laying still, waiting to hear the noise again and see if she could identify if there was a threat or not. She could hear Castle sleeping beside her, his breathing slow and steady and his arm cuddling her close enough that she could feel his heart thumping in his chest against her cheek. That wasn't what had woken her.

She heard it again, then, and recognized it for what it was; thunder. She waited, automatically counting to herself even though she wasn't going to be able to see any flash of light from lightening. A moment later there was another low rumble and she wondered what time it was. She had the impression that it was early morning rather than late night, and suddenly felt the urge to get up and try to take care of herself for a change.

"Morning?" Castle murmured, sleepily, his arm tightening on her as she started to wiggle out of his grasp, trying to keep from waking him up.

"It's early," she whispered, even though she didn't have a clue what time it was. She knew if she said she didn't know what time it was, he'd wake up so he could let her know. "Go back to sleep, Rick…"

"Mmmm-kay…"

He didn't even sound like he had really woken up, so she shifted just a little until she was holding him and not the other way around, and then she lay still, listening to the low rumbling thunder as she gave him time to go back to sleep before she slipped out of his arms, and then out of the bed.

She made her way carefully to the bathroom and started water in the tub, feeling a little more confident about trying things on her own than she had been – although she was being extremely careful about where she was walking and what she was reaching for. The water filled and she made sure she had everything close at hand before she climbed into the tub. From there it was simple. She'd bathed many times with her eyes closed, after all. She leaned back against the padded pillow and sighed, feeling pretty pleased with herself.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Castle rolled over in his sleep, his arm automatically reaching out to keep from squishing Beckett by shifting her with him – only to encounter an empty space where she was supposed to be. He patted her spot sleepily, and then opened his eyes when his mind finally caught on to what he was feeling and brought him awake with a start. He looked at her spot – which was still empty, of course – and then sat up, alarmed. Thunder rumbled outside the window, and a glance at the clock beside the bed told him that it was almost 6:30am – fairly early to be getting up.

He stretched and looked over the edge of the bed to see if somehow she'd fallen out of bed – and then just decided to stay where she'd fallen instead of getting back up and into bed. Not surprisingly, she wasn't there. He looked around the room and found it was empty, and got out of bed, heading into the living room, concerned.

"Kate?"

"In here."

He heard her voice coming from the bathroom, and the splash of water. Castle tapped lightly on the open bathroom door and poked his head in. She was in the tub, clearly fine and not in need of rescuing. But he couldn't help but make sure.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

He hesitated, then, aware that he was watching her soak in the tub. Naked. He leaned against the doorframe, and crossed his arms, admiring the view from where he stood. Beckett turned her head toward him, even though she couldn't see him.

"You're watching me, aren't you?"

He smiled. Busted.

"Yeah."

"Don't you have something else to do?" she asked him with a sight smile, and a slight blush. She wasn't annoyed – and not really surprised.

"Want me to wash your back?" he offered, coming over and sitting on the edge of the tub. She had everything she needed at hand, but he couldn't help but ask. Besides, he loved touching her now that she was letting him.

Beckett smiled, not fooled.

"Are you dressed?"

"Nope."

She reached out and ran her hand along his side, and then down and along his hip and leg. Sure enough, he hadn't bothered to get anything on, and she continued her search until she found evidence of how enticing she looked.

"I suppose I could use a little help," she told him, leaning forward in invitation for him to join her – and play backrest once more. He joined her, and she sighed as she leaned back against him, feeling his arm going around her – although he kept his cast away from the water since he didn't have a garbage bag over it to protect it from getting wet. "It's not fair, though, you know…?"

"What's that?" he asked, leaning forward and nibbling on her ear, enticingly.

"You get to see me, but I still haven't seen you naked."

He smiled and hugged her close, reassuringly.

"I'll tell you what," he said, reaching for the poof so he could wash her back. "When the bandages come off I'll put a blindfold on and you can have your way with me for as long as you want."

Which made her smile – and shiver just a little at the thought.

"I'm going to hold you to that."

"Good." He pressed the poof into her hands and then reached for the body gel. "Soap that up for me, will ya?"

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"You know… you don't really _have_ to come…"

"Yes I do. I'm your detail, remember?"

"But you're still on your medical leave. And it's _raining_. It's not-"

"Lanie. Either I come with you to work, or we call in someone else to. But you're not going alone until we figure out who put that bomb on that body."

The Medical Examiner scowled, and then gave him her best 'I'm annoyed with your over-protective attitude' look, but Esposito didn't back down. Not for something that was so important. He stared back at her, unweilding, and waiting for her answer. When she realized that he wasn't going to back down she scowled and sighed, exasperated.

"Fine. You can come. But you have to promise not to get in the way."

"I'm not going to get in the way, Lanie. But I _am_ going to keep you safe."

She sighed again, but this time she wasn't annoyed. How could she be? She walked over and he put his arms around her as well as he could with his cast on the broken arm and hugged her close. Lanie put her cheek against his.

"You have to stay safe, too, though."

"Of course."

"I mean it."

"You know me, Babe. Of course I'll –"

"I know you," she said. "Which is why I'm reminding you. And keep your cast dry."

He grinned, and kissed her.

"Let's go."


	28. Chapter 28

_Author's note: This is a little short, but I'll try to put more up tomorrow to make up for it_

OOOOOOOOOO

It was a pretty quiet morning. Once they got out of the tub, Castle changed Beckett's bandages and then made the two of them breakfast. As they ate, he read the newspaper to her like he had before and they listened to the thunder rolling through the city.

"Want to go for a walk?" Beckett asked him, once he'd read the more interesting articles to her and the last of their breakfast dishes had been cleaned off and put into the dishwasher for later.

"It's _raining_ outside," he reminded her.

"Is there a guy outside the window building a boat and collecting animals two by two?" she asked him, smiling slightly.

He made an exaggerated point of walking to the window and looking out, knowing that she would be able to hear his actions.

"No. Nobody building a boat."

"Then we should be okay taking a walk," she said. "Unless you really don't want to?"

He shook his head and shrugged. If she wanted to go outside, he certainly wasn't going to be the reason she didn't go.

"I'll take a walk with you, Kate. But when you get cold and wet feet, don't expect to slide them under my warm body to warm them up."

She smiled.

"You wouldn't let me warm my feet under you?"

He scowled, but she didn't see it of course.

"We'll discuss it if it comes up…"

"Fair enough."

They dressed warmly and grabbed their jackets and armed with an umbrella, he offered her his arm and led her outside into the rain.

"Want to walk here, or in the park?" he asked.

"The park."

She didn't know all her neighbors that well – she hadn't lived here long enough to – but she didn't want any of them – or any of the people on the streets close at hand – seeing her like she was and thinking she might be an easy target for a burglar.

He bustled her into his car, handed her the umbrella and drove them to the park.

OOOOOOOOOO

"What is it, take your cop to work day?"

Lanie smiled at the medical clerk who met her at the medical examiner's office entranceway.

"He thinks I need a bodyguard," she explained.

The clerk smiled. She had been introduced to Esposito and had seen him a few times, so she was comfortable enough with him to do a little teasing.

"If I had a boyfriend that looks like him I wouldn't object too much…"

"I know some guys," Esposito told her with a wink.

"Your _partner_?" she asked, her smile turning somewhat predatory. "He's cute."

"He's engaged."

"_Richard Castle_? He's cute, too."

"He's-"

"_Taken_," Lanie finished. "And I happen to know that your husband isn't ugly."

"Yeah, but he's my _husband_, Lanie," she told her with a mock frown. "We're talking about my future _boyfriend_."

Lanie chuckled and caught Esposito's hand and pulled him over to the ME assignment board. She pulled down her clipboard and looked through it.

"It looks like I have two autopsies to do first. Are you going to sit through them or do you want to wait in my office?"

He frowned.

"I'll sit outside the door."

Not that he was squeamish and avoided autopsies, but he did dead bodies all day, and the last thing he wanted was to watch her cut them up.

She smiled and went off to start her day, with him close enough behind that she wouldn't have to worry about anything happening to her.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kevin Ryan returned to the precinct a little later than normal the next morning. The thunderstorm had caused some power outages to a small percentage of the city and unfortunately his was one of the places affected. His alarm didn't go off and his phone was dead since the charger he'd left it on had turned off as a result of a safety feature in the event of a power failure or a surge of any kind. He'd woken almost an hour later than normal and was consequently almost an hour late getting to work. Which wouldn't have been so bad, if not for the fact that Montgomery was already there and apparently waiting to talk to him.

"Sorry, Captain," he said as soon as he reached his desk. "Lost power last night."

Montgomery shrugged, silently telling him it wasn't a big deal – which was a relief.

"Did you find anything on the bomber?"

"Castle came up with a theory that the guy – or woman – wasn't after cops, but might have been after an ME instead. With that in mind, we've started cross referencing our list of people with access to the body to those who might have had an alteration with one of the city ME's."

"That's a fairly long list."

"And we're not really sure that it's the right direction, but it's worth trying, we figure."

"Castle's theories usually are – at least the ones that don't involve time travel do. Keep looking for a connection to the police, too, though, just in case."

"We will."

"Have you seen Beckett?"

"Not today. Bandages come off in a couple of days."

"I know." He had every intention of being near at hand in case he was needed. "Let me know if you find anything."

"I will."

Montgomery left and Ryan went to get coffee. The search would wait that long.


	29. Chapter 29

"Who keeps a _broken_ umbrella?"

"It was a gift from my father…"

"He gave you a broken umbrella?"

"I broke it."

"And saved it…"

"You don't throw away gifts. Even if they're gifts that don't work anymore."

"You might have mentioned that when we left."

"I didn't know you picked up the broken one."

He grumbled, but Beckett knew he wasn't all that annoyed. Besides, he'd understand when Alexis was older. Of course, _she_ had been smart enough to wear a hooded jacket when they'd left and the discovery that the umbrella didn't work as well as it would have if there weren't a giant hole in it didn't bother her nearly as much as it did him, since he had no hood to protect him from the rain. She'd told him that they could forget the walk and just go home, but he'd declined the offer and had simply made sure her hood was up and her hair was tucked in and had given her his arm and continued the walk as though nothing was wrong.

Now that they'd arrived back at the apartment, cheeks flushed from the cold and in surprisingly good spirits considering the gloomy day, he had to make at least one comment about the current state of things.

"I feel like a drowned rat."

Beckett laughed and reached up, feeling his face first and then working her way to his hair, which was soaked.

"You really are wet. I'll get you a towel."

He caught her hands in his, and even with the cast on one he was gentle, and he kissed them lightly, his lips warm against the cool skin of her fingers.

"_I'll_ get a towel," he told her. "You get out of those wet shoes before you catch a cold."

Even holding his arm, she hadn't managed to avoid every puddle on the walking path, and she knew he felt a little guilty every time her sneakers had squished afterward. He let her go and she heard him head for the bathroom hall and open the closet that held all the towels. Beckett pulled off her jacket and hung it on the hook on the wall to dry, and then kicked her shoes off and reached down to take off her socks, leaving them all by the door. After that, she felt her way to the couch and sat down with a pleased sigh. It was a bit of an ordeal to be out walking around and not be able to see everything you could hear going on around you, but she was glad for the fresh air and even the rain. It was better than staying cooped up in her apartment and allowing herself to wallow in the ever-lingering fear that she'd never see the rain again – or anything else, for that matter. Before she had a chance to start mulling that possibility over and over in her mind, she heard him coming up behind her and felt him drape a towel over her head.

"Want some coffee?"

She nodded, pulling the towel off with a smile.

"That'd be nice. Want help?"

"Nope. Want lunch?"

"What are you making?"

"Grilled cheese and tomato soup?"

"That sounds good."

"Come keep me company…"

He took her hand, pulling her to her feet and tucked it firmly in his as he walked her across the room. Beckett got the impression that he wasn't holding her so much to guide her as to simply be holding her, and she was warmed by that realization. He got her settled on a barstool and stole a kiss before turning to the coffee pot.

"Cheddar or mozzarella?"

"Both."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ryan stretched, wondering if he should just call it a day. It was the weekend, after all, and he had a date later that evening. Staring at the computer all day – since he was grounded from actually going out on the streets until Esposito was back in the precinct from his medical leave – was making his eyes cross and his head hurt. Montgomery had gone home, telling him to call if he needed him, but aside from Esposito calling in once to check in and tell him just how boring Lanie's job was, no one else had been in touch.

With a sigh, he started to gather his things, but before he could stand up one of the other detectives called his name from the other side of the room.

"Hey, Ryan!"

"Yeah?"

"Vice just picked up one of the people from your watch list on that booby-trapped body."

"Really? For what?"

"He bought a gun from one of their undercover guys. They want to know what do you want them to do with him?"

Ryan stood up, reaching for his keyboard.

"What's his name?"

"Andrew Cradle."

A few keystrokes and he had a picture to go with the name.

"Tell them I want him in our interrogation room as soon as possible."

"Will do."

Ryan picked up his cell and called Esposito's number.

"Hey, Vice picked up one of our watch list guys. I told them to bring him down here. Think Lanie can come down and take a look at him and see if she knows him?"

_"Yeah, we'll be right there."_

He hung up and then called a couple other numbers. The first being his fiancé to let her know he might end up running just a little late, but he was still going to make their reservations and the other to call Beckett's cell.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Castle handed the buzzing phone over to Beckett, and took her empty bowl in exchange. She answered it, and he could see her posture straighten as whoever was on the other end started talking.

"We'll be right there," she said, and hung up.

"What was that?" he asked, curiously.

"Vice caught one of the guys on the watch list buying a gun."

"Seriously?"

"That's what Ryan said. He wanted to let me know that they're bringing him to our interrogation room."

She wouldn't be able to do the interrogation – she wouldn't even be able to watch – but she'd listen in on things and see if Lanie recognized the guy or not. It was obvious to Castle that she wanted to go and wanted to get there as soon as possible. He did, too.

"I'll get your shoes."


	30. Chapter 30

"The guy's name is Andrew Cradle," Ryan told Beckett and Castle as they walked down a hall heading for one of the observation rooms. "He's on the watch list from the body, but we couldn't match him to any backgrounds from any of the medical Examiners."

"Which doesn't really mean anything," Castle said, his hand resting lightly on Beckett's elbow to help her stay steady without actually seeming to guide her. "They could have something off the record."

"Right," Ryan agreed. "Which is why we have all the medical examiners coming in to see if they recognize the guy. None of them recognized his name."

"Has Lanie been in?"

"They're on the way. We've only had two ME s come in so far."

Ryan opened the door to the observation room and Castle guided Kate to a chair while at the same time looking through the one way glass at the man sitting at the interrogation table.

"He's got a criminal record," Ryan said, dropping a file on the table. He knew Beckett couldn't read it, but he still needed to have it handy – and Castle opened it and took a look.

"Five years for assault with a deadly weapon, three more added on for assaulting his cellmate with an improvised weapon. He's been out about 6 months and has been in a work program with the hospital for the last 5 months."

"Which gave him access to the body?" Beckett asked, wishing she could look in the guy's eyes. She'd be able to tell then if he was the one who left the booby-trap.

"Not directly," Ryan answered. "But he definitely had opportunity."

"He's kind of _creepy_ looking," Castle noted.

"What did he want with the gun?" Kate asked. Creepy looking didn't really make someone guilty.

"He hasn't answered that question for us. Keeps telling us where to go…"

Castle looked at the man in the chair again. He was sullen and unkempt but there was none of that fear of being in the police station that he saw in most people in the interrogation rooms. He stared at the hands he'd placed on the desk almost defiantly, as though he'd steeled himself for whatever was going to happen – or he didn't care. Either way, that made for a dangerous combination.

"Did you ask him about the bomb?" Castle asked.

"We're waiting until we have the medical examiners try to link him. If there's no link to one of them, then it might be a coincidence and if it is, we don't want to give him any ideas… guy's crazy enough as it is."

"Good point," Beckett nodded. She couldn't see the guy, but she trusted Ryan's judgment – even though she rarely believed in coincidence any more. She had seen far too much in her time as a cop.

The door opened before anyone could say anything, and Beckett caught a whiff of a familiar perfume. It should be familiar; she'd gotten it for Lanie for her birthday a few months back. Sure enough, the next thing she heard was Lanie's voice.

"Hey Kate, how are you doing?"

"Fine," she replied.

She felt Lanie's hand on her shoulder as the ME came and joined her at the table, and heard Esposito's voice still by the door.

"He can't see you, Lanie," the detective reminded her. "But does he look familiar?"

There was a pause, and Kate could practically feel Lanie sizing the guy up. Her friend was incredibly observant – it made her very good at her job – and she knew that she would be going back through her memory fairly thoroughly to try and remember the guy.

"No. I've never seen him before."

"You're sure?" Beckett asked, more habitually than anything else.

"Yeah. I'd have remembered him. He's kind of creepy."

"Told you," Castle murmured. He was sitting beside Beckett, and she couldn't help but smile.

"Is he the guy?" Lanie asked.

"Maybe," Ryan said. "But unless we can tie him to one of-"

"You know, I don't know why I have to come down here on my day off," a voice interrupted Ryan as the door opened and all of them – including Kate – turned toward that annoyed sounding voice. Even without eyes, Beckett knew who had just entered, and it was confirmed a moment later when Ryan spoke up, interrupting what was obviously an on-going tirade.

"Dr. Perlmutter, we need you to look at this man and see if you remember ever seeing him."

Perlmutter, who looked as annoyed as he sounded, looked at Castle.

"Yes. He's a writer who follows Detective Becke-"

"The guy in the other room," Esposito interrupted, sounding annoyed as well. Hardly a surprise since Perlmutter annoyed everyone he came into contact with.

Perlmutter looked over at the window and his scowl deepened.

"It's the jack-ass that ran me off the road a couple weeks back."

"You're sure?" Ryan asked, surprised.

"Of course I'm sure. I was late getting to a crime scene because of him and his nattering about how I didn't signal when I changed lanes and that I was going to have to pay for the dent on his car. I told him that I wasn't going to pay for anything, and if he had a problem with that, then he could take it up with the city attorneys, because-"

"You're _sure_ this is the same guy?" Beckett asked.

"I have _eyes_, Detective," he snapped, not realizing – or maybe not caring – that at the moment it was a pretty insensitive way of putting things when talking to Beckett. She didn't mind; she was used to his abrasiveness – and there were a lot more important things to consider besides the possibility of hurt feelings. "I know who I saw."

"Well, we have a link…" Castle said.

"Can I get back to my day off now?" Perlmutter asked, sarcastically. "I have things to do, and people to see."

"We're going to need you to write out a statement about what happened with this guy and you," Esposito said.

"I already wrote an incident report on it," the ME told them. "Look it up."

"We need it to connect this guy to you," Beckett told him. "So we'll need you to add anything you might have missed the first time."

"I didn't miss anything," Perlmutter told them. "I'm-"

"Just do it, Sidney," Lanie told him, interrupting. "Stop being an ass about things. I'm down here, too, you know, and this might be the guy that set that booby-trap, so do what you're told and then you can go home."

There was a few moments of silence as Perlmutter's arrogance went toe to toe silently with Lanie's disapproval, but there was no contest.

"Fine. I'll pull up the report and your boyfriend can tell me if it's what he needs. If it is, then I'm out of here."

"Fine."

Kate heard the sound of the door opening, and a few people leaving, including Perlmutter and Lanie, and felt Castle's hand brush hers, more to get her attention than anything else.

"We might have our guy, hmmm?"

"Sound like it's possible," she agreed. "I know I want to blow him up sometimes…"

Ryan snorted, amused despite the seriousness of what they were doing.

"We'll wait and make sure, though," he said. "Hating Perlmutter isn't a crime."

"Otherwise most of us would be in jail, too," Beckett replied.

That made Castle snort, too.


	31. Chapter 31

Castle had sat in on a lot more interrogations run by Beckett than he had Ryan, but it was easy to see that while they had different methods, Ryan was just as experienced at getting into a suspect's mind as Kate was. He sat beside Kate, who was listening to what was going on in the other room and had told him that he didn't need to describe it for her, because she was familiar enough with how Ryan did his interviews that she could follow along with just what was being said.

Ryan had returned with Perlmutter's report, which had been surprisingly – or maybe not – thorough. The ME had entered all pertinent information in his report of the incident, which had also included the make and model of the car that had hit the Medical Examiner's office van and a very complete description of the man who'd been driving it. They'd checked the DMV records and found that the car Andrew Cradle drove matched the make and model of the one in the report, and the descript was dead accurate. Of course, Perlmutter himself had already identified him, but it never hurt to have the added proof. The ME had left almost an hour before, grumbling at wasted time, but Esposito and Ryan had been forced to admit he certainly knew how to write a report.

After reading the report a couple times, Ryan left Castle and Beckett in the room and went to join Cradle, who was getting more and more jittery the longer he waited. The man actually started when Ryan opened the door, and Esposito walked into the observation room and joined Castle and Beckett just as Ryan sat across from their suspect.

"Mr. Cradle, what did you need a gun for?"

"Personal safety," the man answered. "New York's _dangerous_, you know?"

"Yeah. I know. However, _you're_ not allowed to own a weapon."

"I have a right to be protected."

"Is there someone after you?"

"No."

"Then why do you think you need a gun?"

"For pro-"

"Protection," Ryan interrupted. "I heard you." He made a show of looking in Cradle's file. "It says here that you work at New York Hospital."

"I quit."

"When?"

"A while ago."

"Do you know anything about a missing cadaver that-"

"I don't know nothing about no bomb."

"Got him," Beckett murmured, and Castle smiled as Ryan pretended to be concerned.

"I didn't mention a _bomb_, Mr. Cradle."

Cradle didn't say anything, he just scowled, almost certainly aware that he'd screwed up.

"But since _you_ mentioned it," Ryan went on, ignoring the look on Cradle's face and reaching for a paper he'd placed in the file. "This is a warrant."

"What kind of warrant?"

"_Search_ warrant," the detective replied. "While I have you in custody, some of my friends are going to go check your house – and seize your computer."

"What? You can't do that!"

"Of course I can. This paper says I can."

Cradle's scowl deepened.

"Unless you want to tell me what we're going to find," Ryan said.

"I'm not talking."

"That's fine. We'll be able to see on your computer what kind of things you've been looking up on the internet – you know, like directions on how to make bombs… that kind of thing. Not to mention we can search for any indications that you might have been trying to make a bomb – or a timer."

"Look, I made a bomb, okay?"

"And…?"

"And I might have left it under a car…"

"Attached to a dead body that you stole from New York hospital?"

"Yes."

"Why would you do that, Mr. Cradle?"

"That guy had it coming!" Cradle snapped, finally losing his temper. "He cut me off and then said that I was the one-"

"You were trying to blow up the Medical Examiner that you think drove you off the road?"

"Maybe."

The anger was gone as quickly as it had manifested, replaced by a chagrined look.

"And when that didn't work you were going to use a gun, instead?"

"I don't know."

"You realize that you didn't even come close to hurting that guy, don't you?" Ryan asked. "Instead you injured two cops. You know what that means?" He didn't wait for a reply. "That means you're going back to prison. For a long time. The fact that you bought a gun only makes it worse."

Cradle didn't say anything, but Ryan wasn't waiting for him to. He stood up and headed for the door, leaving his prisoner sitting at the table trying to figure out how he'd managed to confess to something that he'd had no intention of admitting.

"How did he get a warrant so quick?" Castle asked, surprised.

"He didn't," Esposito told him.

"But-"

"He was bluffing," Beckett interrupted. "He's pretty good at it."

Castle grinned in delight.

"That is so going in the next book."

Esposito smiled.

"Now that we have a confession, though, we'll be able to get warrant no problem. They'll seize Cradle's computer just like Ryan said, and we'll be able to find out whatever we need to know."

"How long will that take?" Castle asked.

"We'll be in before morning," was the answer. "But it'll take a while for the guys to go through what they find – and check the computer, assuming he has one."

"He would have mentioned it if he didn't," Beckett pointed out.

"Yeah. At any rate, I'm going to take Lanie home. There's no sense sticking around here all night."

"You can drop all the protective details, too," Beckett said.

"Already did," Esposito agreed. "Except for Perlmutter's. We'll keep his on him until we make sure that Cradle didn't have someone working with him."

Castle nudged Beckett.

"You ready to leave?" he asked her. "Or do you want to stick around and wait to see what they find?"

"I'm ready to go," she answered. It had to be late, and she was hungry. "You guys will let us know what you find out?" she asked Esposito.

"Soon as Ryan tells me, I'll tell you," he promised. "But don't expect anything until mid morning."

"Right."

He touched her arm to offer his support as they walked to the door and she accepted it. There were too many things that could trip her up for her not to, after all. Lanie was all smiled when she met them back in the main room.

"That was easy."

Beckett shrugged.

"I wish they all were."

"Are you guys heading out, then?"

Castle nodded.

"I don't know about Beckett, but I'm starving."

"Me, too," Kate agreed. "Remy's?"

Castle looked at his watch, while the others all did the same thing, automatically.

"If that's what you want."

She nodded. It was probably really late, but nothing sounded better just then.,

"We'll see you guys later, then," Lanie told them, casting a sly look at the two of them arm in arm. Castle didn't notice, though, and of course Kate didn't see it. "At least it's not cookies."

Kate chuckled.


	32. Chapter 32

"You'd tell me if I was making a mess, right?"

"Yes."

"Am I?"

"No. You're doing fine. How's your burger?"

"Perfect."

The two of them had decided to take their food to go. Beckett was more comfortable at home than trying to eat in public when she couldn't really see, and the fixings on her burger would be messy even at the best of times. Even as late as it was, she didn't want to cause a spectacle for whoever might be eating out. So they'd ordered to go, which was fine with Castle, and now they were sitting at her table, listening to the rain still coming down while making their way through a meal that probably wasn't the best choice of a pre-bedtime dinner, but was too good to resist.

He watched her eat, his chin resting on his hand and was impressed that she wasn't making a mess. He'd scarfed his burger quickly – he'd been hungry – and had spilled secret sauce on his shirt. She was meticulous and careful, and hadn't even needed the extra napkins she'd asked him to get. He'd used half the stack.

"Are you already done?" she asked, realizing that she wasn't hearing any wrappers rustling or anything else coming from his side of the table.

"Yes."

"And now you're just watching me eat?"

"Yes."

"Boring."

He smiled, even though she wouldn't be able to see it.

"I could sit and watch you all day," he admitted.

She blushed at the sincerity in his voice when he said that, but it made her feel good, too, because she knew that he meant it. Of course, he'd sat and watched her working for hours at a time – even when it was just simple paperwork – so she knew he was right, but it still felt good.

Beckett reached for his hand – completely missing – but he moved his hand so she wouldn't know, and she caught it and squeezed it.

"You always know what to say."

He brought her hand up to his lips and brushed a gentle kiss against her knuckles.

"You make it easy," he told her. He noticed her blush deepen and he didn't want to make her uncomfortable, so he changed the subject before her hair started blushing, too. "Do you want some coffee?"

"No. Thank you."

He let her hand go so she could finish eating, and he stood up and took his empty wrappers to the garbage.

"I think I'm going to go to bed," he told her. "Do you need anything before I go?"

She shook her head, pleased by that. He wasn't hovering over her any more, which meant that he realized she was fully capable – well probably not fully capable, but at least a little capable – of taking care of herself, now, even though she couldn't see anything around her. She knew that he'd leave the bathroom set up so she wouldn't have any trouble finding what she needed, but aside from that he trusted her to let him know if she needed anything before he left her alone, and that was a huge change from the day she was discharged from the hospital.

"I'm okay," she told him. "I probably won't be far behind."

She was tired, too, after all. And especially now that she'd eaten. She tilted her head up, and sure enough he kissed her softly before heading for the bathroom. Beckett smiled, and then returned her attention to her burger before it could get cold or soggy.

OOOOOOOOOO

Castle might have gone to bed, but he didn't go to sleep. Instead, he lay in her bed with the door open and the lights off, listening to the sounds coming from the rest of the apartment and following her actions. Not because she needed him to. He was pretty sure by now that she could get around her place fairly well – as long as he didn't move anything, and he was careful not to. Mainly he listened because it was in his nature to always want to know who was doing what and where they were doing it. Add in the fact that it was her, and there really didn't need to be more of an explanation.

He listened as she put her garbage away and then headed into the bathroom. Because she closed the door, he couldn't hear anything for a long while, but just as he was starting to doze off, the bathroom door opened and woke him up with a start. A moment later she appeared at the door, and he watched as she carefully made her way across the room, slipping out of her clothing as she did so, until she must have sensed she was close to the bed. She stopped, her hand reaching out to touch the stand by the bed.

"I'm awake, Kate," he whispered, giving her a sense of which direction to go in case she needed it.

"Did I wake you up?" she asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"No." he moved, giving her room to join him under the covers, and she did so, cuddling against him easily. "I was just lying here in the dark…"

She gave a wry grin that he couldn't see.

"That sounds familiar."

His arm tightened on her for just a moment, but he knew from her tone that she didn't need reassurance, she had just been pointing out that she knew what he was talking about.

"Two more days, Kate," he told her. "Well, a day and some change."

"I know…" She sighed and ran her fingers along his face. "You must be tired of taking care of me, though," she said, stroking his cheek softly. "So it'll be a relief I bet."

He grinned, knowing that she would be able to feel his face stretch into the smile. It wasn't taking care of her that was keeping him up late at night! He wasn't going to tell her that, though, and since she wouldn't be able to see the amusement in his eyes to figure it out for herself, all he did was shake his head.

"It's a labor of love," he assured her. And then some. "Besides, some day I might need you to take care of me, right?"

"I suppose so – although you have Alexis to do that."

"Until she leaves for college," he reminded her. "And mother will be busy with her acting school and then where will I be?"

He hadn't meant to make it sound so pathetic, but the thought of losing Alexis – even to college and not something more nefarious – wrenched at him and he couldn't keep that out of his tone of voice, apparently, because her fingers stilled on his cheek and her head came up from where it was resting on his shoulder.

"You'll still have me," Beckett told him. "And Ryan and Esposito and everyone else at the precinct. And the Mayor and your-"

"I get it," he interrupted, catching her hand and brushing a kiss against her palm. "Don't mind me, Kate," he said. "I'm just feeling sorry for myself when I don't have any reason to be."

She smiled, and pressed her lips against the corner of his mouth.

"I know what will make you feel better…" she told him.

"Yeah?" he was pretty sure he knew what she had in mind, and he was certainly willing, glad she couldn't see the gleam of anticipation that had to be in his eyes just then.

"Yeah. Lay down flat."

Oh, yeah, he could do that. He wriggled a little in the bed, pushing aside the pillows that had been propping him up until he was flat on his back, and then he waited, expectantly to see what she had in mind.

"On your _belly_, Rick," she corrected.

He frowned, but rolled over for her, which was definitely going to make things a bit trickier. Beckett had other ideas, however, he found out; she straddled him around his lower back and started rubbing his shoulders with deft, sure hands. It felt so good on muscles he hadn't even realized were tense and sore that he groaned in sheer pleasure.

"Like that do you?" she asked him from somewhere over his shoulder.

"Oh, yeah… Don't ever stop."

Beckett chuckled and he felt her kneading the back of his neck, taking her time and clearly skilled at what she was doing. He gave himself up entirely to her hands, and closed his eyes, relaxing completely in probably the first time since the bomb had blown him off his feet. Almost immediately he felt better – just like she'd promised – and even more, he found himself drifting off under her touch. He tried to stay awake, figuring it would be bad form for him to fall asleep when she was being so thoughtful, but her hands were doing exactly what they were trying to do and he fell asleep before she'd even finished with his shoulders and started on his back.

Kate smiled to herself when she felt him relax so completely that he must have fallen asleep. She hadn't realized just how tense his shoulders and back were – which was a sure sign that he wasn't as carefree and certain about things as he was trying to make it sound. You couldn't fake the way his muscles had seized up when she'd first started massaging them, only to relax so much that there was no way his groan of relief had been anything but sincere. The fact that he fell asleep so quickly only confirmed what Lanie had told her; he was looking pretty tired. She knew part of it was the newly aroused – she smiled to herself at the pun – physical side of their relationship, but the rest was worry and the fact that she knew he'd rather take care of her than himself. She didn't mind that he'd fallen asleep – she'd expected it. Instead, she continued her massage, knowing it would make him feel better even when he wasn't awake to appreciate it, and only when she'd finished every part of him that she could reach completely did she move off him and silently cuddle up against him once more.

Asleep he might have been, but even asleep he'd felt her beside him, and he reached out and pulled her close, mumbling something she didn't hear or understand. She snagged one of the pillows and was soon asleep, too.


	33. Chapter 33

_Author's note: Yay! I'm back from Chicago and my Stargate convention. I had a great time and posted some pictures on my facebook page for those interested. Now on with the story!_

OOOOOOOOOOOO

The smell of bacon and eggs permeated Castle's sleep, drawing him from his sound slumber slowly and relentlessly. He opened his eyes, looking automatically for Beckett, only to find that her place beside him was empty. He reached his hand out and it was cold as well, meaning she'd been up some time. He smelled again, sure he was mistaken, but there was no doubt that it was bacon. And coffee. Concerned despite the fact that he didn't smell anything burning, he rolled out of the bed and stopped only long enough to throw on his sweats before he headed out into the living room. And then he was glad that he had, because Beckett was sitting on the stool in the dining room and Lanie was standing by the coffee pot, clearly waiting for it to finish brewing so she could have some. Both women turned toward him, Lanie drawn by the motion, and Kate by the sound, and the ME smiled to see him so disheveled.

"Good morning, Castle…" she said. "Or should I say 'good afternoon'?"

Confused, he looked at his watch, and was shocked to see that it was after 11:30am. He looked at Beckett, who seemed to be all right, but he had to ask anyway.

"You okay?"

She must have realized he was talking to her, because she nodded, looking a little smug.

"I hope we didn't wake you up."

"No."

"I woke up, and you were sleeping so soundly I didn't have the heart to wake you up, too. So I made coffee, and decided to call Lanie."

"Who promptly came over and made breakfast for you two," Lanie finished, with a smile. "Of course, Kate and I have already eaten, but I figured you'd smell breakfast and come running so we made more coffee and here you are."

"Here-" he looked down, glad once more that he hadn't rushed out naked. "I'm going to go get dressed."

"Don't do it on my account," Lanie said, winking.

Kate chuckled, hearing the teasing in her friend's tone.

"We'll have breakfast for you by the time you're done."

"Don't get that cast wet," Lanie told him.

"I won't."

He escaped back into the bedroom, and closed the door soundly behind him.

"How did he look?" Beckett asked.

"Rumpled."

"Better than he did?"

"Definitely."

"Good."

"So… judging by his clothing – or lack thereof – do I even need to ask how things are going between the two of you?"

Kate could feel herself getting warm, and knew she was blushing, but she smiled anyway, not really embarrassed. She and Castle were both adults, after all, and what they did was nothing to be ashamed of.

"He's taking good care of me," she said, and then blushed hotly, knowing that Lanie would jump on her choice of words. Sure enough, she did.

"I'll bet he is," Lanie said with an amused snort – both at what was said, and at Beckett's blush. "I'm glad for you though, girl. He obviously cares about you more than just a little."

"Yeah, he does."

She couldn't hide the uncertainty in her voice, though, and Lanie didn't miss it.

"But…?"

"I just wonder what will happen if I don't see anything when they take the bandages off, tomorrow. I don't want him to have to take care of me any longer than-"

"You're worrying about something that hasn't happened and probably won't," Lanie interrupted. "I know that's your nature, but try to squash it for now, because you're only going to be driving yourself crazy if you let that eat at you."

"I know."

"Then stop." Lanie took her friend's hand and gave it a quick squeeze. "According to Javier your bad guy has admitted to setting the bomb and trying to injure Perlmutter, so you don't need to go into the station today. The rain has stopped – obviously – so why don't you let Castle eat his breakfast and then tell him you'd like to go spend the day in the park?"

"We've been to the park."

"And…?"

"I think he has better things to do than take me there."

"I doubt it."

"I-"

"Kate, just tell him to take you to the park – or I will."

"Fine."

"And make sure you enjoy yourself. You'll only have him to yourself for a couple more days, right?"

"Alexis and his mom come home day after tomorrow," she confirmed.

"Then enjoy today. I'll be at the hospital when they take off the bandages tomorrow, and then they'll most likely send you home to rest some more. You and Castle can spend the day cuddling – or doing other stuff – and enjoy the company. Maybe even watch some TV and catch up on the shows you've been missing."

"Maybe I'll do that," Beckett told her.

"Do what?" Castle asked, coming in from the bedroom, now dressed in jeans and a polo shirt. He sniffed the air appreciatively and smiled a thank you to Lanie when she handed him a cup of coffee.

"I was wondering if you'd like to spend some time in the park today?" Kate asked him.

"Alone?"

"With me."

He winked at Lanie, who rolled her eyes, although she was secretly amused by how easily the two of them teased each other.

"Sounds great. I'm going to eat first, though…"

"Kate's appointment is at 8AM tomorrow, Castle," Lanie told him. "Don't be late."

"We won't."

"Need anything before I go?" she asked them both.

They shook their heads.

"Thanks for breakfast," he said, sitting down and helping himself to the platter of bacon and eggs she'd set down in front of him. "It smells great."

"You're welcome."

She was gone before he took his first bite.


	34. Chapter 34

_Author's note: Ugh, this chapter just seems boring to me every time I read it, but it's transitional so I guess that can explain it. The bandages come off soon, so that will be fun!_

OOOOOOOOOOOO

By the time Castle ate his breakfast and showered – and then cleaned up the breakfast dishes – it was closer to 1pm than it was to noon, but since neither of them had anywhere they had to be it didn't really matter. He double checked the weather simply by looking out the window and told her that they could do without the broken umbrella for the day. Then he helped her into her jacket and they left her place and went to the park. Since they didn't have anything pressing to do, they simply started walking on one of the paths, Beckett with her arm through his resting lightly on the cast on his wrist, and Castle with his good arm around her, just in case she needed to be steadied.

"I could get used to this," Kate told him after about half an hour of aimless walking – made even more so by the fact that she couldn't see anything around them. She could, however, feel the warmth of the sun on her face and the warmth and comforting presence of him beside her.

"You mean being lazy?" he asked, his tone amused.

"Yeah. I mean, I'd rather be able to _see_ where we're going, but the company is good and we're not chasing some guy who just killed someone, so it's a definite improvement over that."

"You'd get bored pretty quick, I bet."

She nodded.

"Probably."

"But it's still nice for now," Castle said, tightening his grip on her for a moment.

"It is."

They walked for quite a while longer; Castle was a people watcher by nature anyway, so walking in the park - or sitting on a bench and watching as people walked by – was something he enjoyed immensely. Having her with him was a bonus, although he knew it would be a lot better if she could see what he saw when he looked at the people who were passing. When he mentioned this to her, though, she smiled and reminded him that she was a cop and looked at people differently than he did. It was part of her training.

Eventually the chill in the air forced them to leave the park, and as he was helping her into the car he asked what she wanted to do next. She told him she was hungry, and as if on cue, her stomach growled, loudly.

Beckett blushed, but Castle only chuckled. It was long enough since his late breakfast that he was hungry, too, so she wouldn't have to settle for something simple.

"How about dinner, then?" he asked.

"Out?"

He didn't need to be able to see her eyes to know from the tone of her voice that she didn't really want to go out, but it was fine with him. He knew they had plenty of food at her place, after all.

"No. I think tonight I'll make you a special night before the bandages come off dinner."

She smiled, relieved.

"Sounds good."

He got behind the wheel and buckled in.

"Pasta or potatoes?"

"Potatoes."

He started the car.

"Chicken or beef?"

"Beef?"

"You answered my question with a question," he chided.

"Beef."

"Sounds good."

OOOOOOOOOO

Beckett kept him company while he put dinner together, sitting on her customary stool and trying to figure out what he was doing by the noises he was making. Of course, he made it a lot easier since he talked almost nonstop as he browned the hamburger they'd bought earlier in the week.

"Are you going to tell me what you're making, or are you going to make me guess?"

"It's an old fashioned recipe," he replied. "Hearty comfort food. And something I rarely get to have."

"Is it that bad?" she teased.

She heard him snort in good humor, and then heard him move closer and press something warm against her lips.

"Try that."

She did, and it turned out to be the ground beef, lightly seasoned and delicious.

"That's good."

"Of course it's good. But when I add in mashed potatoes, shredded cheddar and some green beans, it's going to become amazing."

"You're making Shepherd's Pie."

"You've had it?"

"Yeah."

"And like it?"

She smiled.

"Yeah. My mom used to make it for us. It's not something I've made in a long time, though."

"Because you're never home long enough to cook."

"Right."

"Well, tonight I'll make it, and the two of us will feast."

"Sounds good."

Buoyed by the fact that she hadn't turned up her nose at his menu choice, he cut up an apple and put it on a small plate in front of her, telling her what it was and where, so she could have something to snack on since he knew she was hungry and it would be about an hour before their meal was ready. Beckett munched on it while she listened to him put the casserole together and finally put it in the oven.

"Forty-five minutes and then we're ready," he told her, clearing her now empty plate and rinsing it off and putting it in the sink before taking her hand and helping her to her feet. "Want to keep me company in the living room?"

She nodded and he led her in to sit on the couch, giving her just enough space that she could decide if they were going to cuddle or just sit, and he was pleased when she snuggled up against him, her head resting on his shoulder and her hand on his thigh. She felt his good arm tighten around her comfortably.

"Want me to read to you?"

She shook her head and smiled up at him.

"No. I want to hear the end of the story."

"The story?"

The continuing adventure of Lachline McHappersnap, Inspector for the famous Scotland Yard."

He smiled.

"It's McHappershap."

"Sorry."

He brushed his lips against her forehead.

"I'll live. Where did we stop?"

"I don't remember. Something about the ravine that the dead man was found in…"

He leaned back, pulling her with him and shifting until he was comfortable. He couldn't remember exactly when he'd realized she'd fallen asleep and when he'd finished the story, but he could improvise better than pretty much anyone.

"Okay, then…"


	35. Chapter 35

"You okay?"

"I'm scared."

He didn't actually need her to tell him that. She was paler than the bandages that covered her eyes, and the hand that was holding his arm was digging painfully into his flesh. He didn't complain though, and no force on Earth could have made him pull away from her just then.

"It'll be fine," he assured her, wishing that he could put his arm around her and hug her close. They were sitting in the waiting room, though, and they weren't alone. Not only were there several strangers about – people who had their own injuries or illnesses to worry about and weren't paying attention to the couple, although a few women looked occasionally at Castle as though trying to decide if they recognized him or not – but Ryan and Esposito as well as Lanie and Captain Montgomery had show up to offer their support as much as they could. At the moment Montgomery was at the front desk trying to find out why his detective had to wait out in the waiting room when they were clearly on time for her appointment, Ryan and Esposito had decided that Beckett looked wan and had gone looking for some coffee to pick her up, while Lanie was sitting across from them watching with concern in her expression. Obviously she was just as worried as Beckett, despite the fact that she tried to sound confident whenever she spoke up. "You'll be chasing bad guys before you know it."

"I'd settle for being able to walk across a room without tripping and falling on my face."

Castle smiled, but before he could reply, the back door to the emergency waiting room opened and a nurse appeared, calling Beckett's name. The detective stood up, releasing Castle's arm as she did so.

"Do you want me to wait out here?" he asked her.

"No." she reached out and grabbed his jacket by the shoulder in a nervous grasp that pulled him to his feet to keep the fabric from ripping. "Please…"

"Of course."

"How about me?" Lanie asked. She'd stood up when Kate had, but was watching uncertainly. They were both walking on eggshells with her, but they didn't want her to be more stressed than she already was.

"Come with me, please?"

"Sure."

"I'll wait out here and let Ryan and Esposito know you went back," Montgomery told them. He'd joined them as soon as her name had been called. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, briefly. "It'll be fine, Beckett."

She nodded, but since she looked more green than pale now, it was probably just as well that she didn't open her mouth to reply. Castle took her hand in his and led the way to the door, where the nurse smiled sympathetically at Beckett and then led them back into the hallways that weren't emergency rooms, just examination rooms. She opened the door to one, but before she could say anything, Doctor Blaine was there suddenly, smiling cheerfully.

"Good morning, Detective," she said, greeting Beckett directly – which let her know that she was there. "How are you feeling?"

"Nervous," Kate admitted.

"I bet." She gestured to an exam table. "Let's get you seated and get the bandages off and see how we did, hmm?"

Castle guided her to the table and held her steady until she was seated, and Blaine turned her gaze to the writer.

"How's your wrist?" she asked him.

"Starting to itch a bit."

"Good. That means it's healing. Keep the cast dry, remember."

"I will."

As she'd been talking to Castle, the doctor had been reaching for a pair of surgical scissors and had walked over to Beckett.

"Hold still, Detective," she ordered, putting one hand over Beckett's eyes, not quite touching the bandages, and used her other hand to start cutting the bandages at Beckett's temple. "This won't take long."

Beckett froze as she felt the scissors cutting the bandages and dug her fingernails into the edge of the table she was sitting on. She could hear Castle take a deep breath close by but her own breath was caught in her chest, unable to get past the sudden lump of fear in her throat. She steeled herself, forcing down her fear as the bandages were cut through and then fell away from her eyes. There were patches covering each eye and these were somewhat stuck in place by the antibiotic cream that was smeared on her eyelids, but Blaine gently wiped them clean and Beckett could feel something lightly brushing against her forehead and nose.

"Go ahead and open your eyes, Detective," Blaine told her. "Slowly, though…"

She did what she was told and as her eyes opened she saw light for the first time in far too long, although there was an odd darker spot in front of her face. A moment later she recognized it as a hand, and blinked several times, trying to bring things in focus.

"Any discomfort?" Blaine asked her.

"I don't think so…"

The hand was pulled back and Beckett's eyes were able to focus a bit better, and now she saw the doctor in front of her, looking incredibly young. Blaine smiled, and pulled out a light, catching Kate's chin with one hand and smoothly shining the light into her eyes quickly, clearly checking them for signs of damage.

"Is she okay?" Castle asked, unable to keep quiet any longer.

Beckett turned her head, and Blaine released her chin so she could. Kate smiled, so relieved she felt tears welling up in her eyes. He looked tired, and pale, and there were half-healed scratches and scrapes on his face but she could see him just fine. A little blurry, maybe, but that might have been the tears.

"I can see," she said, simply, and she saw him grin broadly and pump his fist in relief. Behind him by just a step or so, she saw Lanie, too, and she and her friend exchanged a glance that said thank you and you're welcome without actually having any words pass between them. Lanie's smile was just as broad, but Blaine was smiling, too, pleased.

"That's good news, Detective," she said. She turned to Castle and Lanie. "You two can go tell the others while I clean Detective Beckett's eyes a bit and run a few tests, just to make sure."

"But-" Castle started to object, but he couldn't think of a good reason for her to let him stay, and he didn't want to cause a scene. He trailed off, looking at Beckett, who smiled once more at him, and then he nodded. "Okay."

Lanie and Castle left, leaving the doctor alone with her patient.

"I thought he was going to argue with me for a minute, there," Blaine said, as she reached for a bottle of saline solution.

"Me, too."

The doctor cleaned the last of the antibiotic cream from Beckett's eyes and dried them, and then she ran Beckett through a few tests, designed to determine if there was going to be any lasting damage. Finally she stepped back and made a few notations on the chart that had Beckett's name on it.

"You're doing great, Detective," she announced. "You should wear sunglasses if it's bright out, and keep the lights low inside if you can. Continue the pain meds as needed and I want to see you again in a couple of weeks – unless something happens and then I want you to come back sooner."

"Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. I'm just glad it turned out so well."

They talked for a few more minutes, and then led her out to the waiting room once more. This time, though, Beckett was able to see where they were going and she saw the small group waiting for her before they saw her. With a relieved smile, Montgomery swooped in with a hug, holding her close for a long moment. She laughed her relief and hugged him back, and then was caught in a hug from Esposito, Ryan and then Lanie. Castle was last, and there was suddenly that same old familiar tension between them, which she felt even as she wrapped her arms around him and felt him hold her tightly. She let him go and Montgomery clapped his hands.

"This deserves a celebration," he announced. "Since it's way to early for a drink, how about I take you all to breakfast? Feel up to it, Beckett?"

She was surprised to find that she did feel up to it. A burden had been lifted from her shoulders and she was starving suddenly.

"Yes, sir."

Montgomery looked at the others and they all nodded as well.

Free breakfast was not to be turned down, after all!


	36. Chapter 36

They ended up at a family restaurant that none of them had been to before. None but Montgomery, that was. From the friendly familiarity that that the hostess greeted the captain with, it was obvious that he'd been there many times. When they were seated and the waitress addressed him by name as she brought them all glasses of water, it was clear that he was a regular. As they were looking through the menus he told them that he frequently took his wife and children there pretty much every Sunday, and proved it by not bothering to open his menu.

"I'm having the number 4," he announced.

Castle was sitting across from Beckett, who had been flanked by Esposito and Ryan – the two deciding that they had seen far too little of her the past week and were going to have her for themselves for a while. He watched as the guys made a show of asking her to read their menus for them since she was so good at it all of the sudden and watched as Beckett's expression lightened with every joke and laugh.

"You okay?" Lanie asked him quietly, while Beckett was distracted by Esposito's very bad – but humorous – imitation of someone tripping over a coffee table and breaking a wrist. There was no question who he was pretending to be, and Castle smiled, equally amused, even as he turned and nodded.

"Yeah. Just…" he trailed off, his eyes still on Beckett. "I'm relieved."

Lanie nodded her agreement.

"Me, too. But we didn't have any doubts, right?"

He met her brown eyes with his and they both admitted their fears with that glance, and then Lanie winked conspiratorially and Castle smiled.

"Right."

Of course, _she_ hadn't been the one that had been up almost all night with Beckett the night before. Kate had been restless, and scared, and hadn't been able to get to sleep. He'd tried everything, knowing that she was going to need her rest; a warm bath, a massage, even a glass of warm milk and another story made up on the spot. None of it had worked, and eventually he'd just ended up holding her in his arms while she fretted about every possibility that might come out of the doctor appointment. She had drifted off, only to wake up from some nightmare that she wouldn't tell him about. Then she'd shivered for a while, and had fallen asleep again, but he'd stayed awake in case she needed him to be there for her, and he'd actually had to wake her up when it was time to get ready for the appointment.

"Castle?"

Startled, he and Lanie looked over at the others and found that during their very short exchange the waitress had returned to take their orders. He hadn't actually looked at his menu, and he knew Lanie hadn't either.

"You ready?" Esposito asked, amused.

"I'll have whatever he ordered," Castle told the waitress, and Lanie echoed him a moment later.

"Now…" everyone turned to Montgomery as the waitress left them to go turn in their order, but he only had eyes for Beckett just then. "You're off duty for another few days," he told her. "The department will require a note from your doctor saying that you're fit to return, and they'll need you to refire on the target range, just to check your vision there, so make sure you schedule that for sometime soon."

Beckett nodded. She wasn't surprised by any of that – and had pretty much expected it.

"Yes, sir."

"Good."

Unsaid was the fact that if she needed anything she should call him, but he didn't say it because he knew he didn't need to. Instead, he changed the subject to the bombing case itself, letting them all know that the DA had decided on what to charge their bomber. They discussed all aspects of the case until their food came, and Castle frowned at the meal that was placed in front of him. A moment later the same dish was put in front of Lanie.

"You ordered a burger for breakfast?" he asked Esposito.

"It's got an egg on it, dude."

"Which doesn't make it breakfast," Lanie told him.

Beckett frowned at the two of them, but there was amusement in her expression – and they were all pleased to even be able to see her expression.

"Why did you order what Esposito ordered if you didn't want a burger?"

"Well, obviously because we weren't paying attention…" Castle told her.

"You don't want it?" Esposito asked. "I'll eat it."

Castle scowled, pulling his plate closer.

"I didn't say I didn't want it."

Lanie pulled her plate away from Esposito's gaze, too. She was hungry, too, and not above eating a burger for breakfast – although she had assumed it'd be an omelet or something like that.

"Me, either."

They talked about mostly little things after that, the conversation broken up by the sound of forks and contented munching. Eventually, though, when the meal was finished and the last of Lanie's fries had been stolen and wolfed down by Ryan, Montgomery called a halt to things. He hadn't missed that Beckett looked tired, and Castle looked about to drop now that he'd been fed. Better to take the lead on things – even when he didn't exactly have any authority over them while they were out to breakfast.

"Castle? Take Beckett home," he ordered. "It's been a long morning and she looks tired."

Castle nodded, looking surprised and a little grateful. He was tired, now that the strain of worry was off his shoulders.

"I will."

"Good. Beckett? Get some rest." His gaze softened, though, to belay the sternness of his voice. "I'll be glad to see you when you're ready to come back."

Kate smiled, feeling warm and just a little gooey inside at the sincerity in his voice and expression. She was surrounded by her friends – and they'd been with her that morning when she'd needed the support the most. It felt wonderful.

"Yes, sir."

The waitress brought the check and the captain grabbed it before anyone else could, reminding them that he was buying their breakfast and that was an order.

"You guys get out of here," he told them, signaling for the waitress to pour him another cup of coffee. "Go catch some bad guys, or something."

They all walked out into the bright sunlight, and Beckett squinted and pulled out a pair of sunglasses that Castle had procured for her. The others said their goodbyes and Castle looked over at her, slightly concerned about having too much light for her eyes – which had to be pretty sensitive.

"You okay?"

Her smile was as warm as the sunshine, and she nodded when she looked at him.

"Yes. Take me home."

He nodded, and automatically reached for her to guide her to the car, but hesitated, realizing that she didn't need the help any more. Still smiling, she slipped her arm into his and gave his forearm a slight squeeze. Castle grinned, and they turned and headed for the car.


	37. Chapter 37

They didn't talk much as he drove back to her place but when he parked the car he turned to her.

"Do you want me to let you have some time to yourself?" he asked, well aware that she hadn't had any alone time since she'd been hurt. It was understandable to him that she'd want to be alone for a while.

Beckett shook her head, though.

"I'll have time to myself tomorrow," she told him. "When your mom and Alexis come home." She hesitated, looking concerned suddenly. "Unless you need a break from me?"

He hadn't really had any time to himself, after all, she knew, and he really _did_ look tired now that she could see him. Maybe he wanted to go home and sleep in his own bed for a change.

Castle smiled, his expression telling her that she was way off the mark.

"Not at all."

Smiling, she got out of the car and waited for him to join her, then slid her hand into his belt as she'd become accustomed to doing. He put his arm around her, automatically, and they walked up to the apartment. The difference was that she wasn't hanging back and allowing him to guide her. Instead, she was secretly reveling in the relief that came with the knowledge that she didn't have to worry about being in the dark the rest of her life. She started to reach for her keys, realized that she wasn't carrying them, and waited for him to unlock the door with the key he'd been given by Lanie when he'd first started taking care of Kate. He unlocked the door, and offered her the key, knowing she wasn't going to need him to open it for her any more, but she waved it away.

"Keep it."

He grinned at all that that represented, and she rolled her eyes and gestured for him to precede her into the apartment, which he did.

"So?" he asked, when she'd closed the door behind her and he'd hung up both of their jackets. "It must be a relief to see this place again…"

She looked around, surprised that it looked exactly as it had a week ago. It felt so strange that she'd been living here without being able to see it that she'd just assumed it would look like another place, entirely. Castle had done a good job keeping it from being cluttered, and of course he'd made sure none of the furniture had been moved, so it looked exactly like it had. She felt a lump in her throat, and realized that she was almost ready to cry. Rather than try to talk, and let on that she was so close to the edge, she just nodded.

He must have been able to read her expression, though, because he reached for her.

"I'm sorry, Kate. I didn't-"

She shook her head.

"It's not you," she told him, softly, taking his hand and sitting on the arm of the couch – the closest place she could find, since her knees were suddenly weak. "I just…" she trailed off, choking back a sob.

"I know," he murmured, kneeling down in front of her and pulling her into his arms. "I'm beside myself with relief, and I can't even _imagine_ how you feel."

She gave herself up to his embrace and buried her face in his shirt, letting him hold her and comfort her and just be there for her as he had been all week. She didn't cry, but she knew she was close to it, and she trembled slightly in his arms with the release of it all.

Castle felt her shake and got to his feet, his arms still around her and urging her to hers as well.

"Come here," he whispered, guiding her over to the couch and pulling her down with him so they could sit more comfortably. Then, with his uninjured hand he reached for the blanket that had been thrown over the back of the sofa and draped it over her to keep her warm. "There," he murmured into her ear as he held her tightly. "Now you won't catch cold."

She chuckled, shakily, and relaxed against him.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Not just for _now_," she clarified, pulling back just a little and looking up at him. "For taking care of me…"

His expression grew soft and his tired eyes gleamed with something she couldn't read – which was odd for her, since she was a detective, after all, and very good at reading people.

"I had to, Kate," he told her. "I love you."

She stared at him. Not so much surprised at what he said – because she was aware that he had strong feelings for her – but because he'd admitted it. As intimate as they'd been, neither of them had uttered those words, and she'd assumed it had been to keep things from going further than they already had. She couldn't believe that her being able to see was enough to make him cross that unmentioned line, but something had.

"I-"

"Don't panic," he interrupted, amused by her stunned expression. "I'm not asking you to marry me, or even date me. Really. I just wanted you to know."

His sincerity and honesty made her smile – as did the reference to her earlier comments about where their relationship was heading when they'd started sleeping together. At least he didn't seem to require anything more from her than she was willing to give – and with Castle there rarely were any ulterior motives. He was usually pretty blunt about what he wanted and how he felt, she'd learned. So she relaxed and tugged the blanket a little more securely around her – and him –and then rested her head against his shoulder again.

"You made it all a lot easier for me," she said after a long moment. "I don't think you know how much…" she trailed off again, but Castle chuckled and brushed his fingers against the bruise on her forehead – the one from her running into the cupboard he'd left open. The cut hadn't been bad, just a little bloody when it had occurred, but the bruising had definitely shown up against her fair skin.

"I could have done better," he replied.

"There is that."

"So what happens now?" he asked her. "You don't need me hovering around all the time taking care of you, after all…"

"True. But that doesn't mean I don't _want_ you around."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. It'll be different, now, of course. _Things_ are different, after all."

"I'd rather you can see and _not_ need me," he told her. "Believe me."

"Me too," she agreed, and then she changed the subject. "Do you have anything pressing to do today?"

He shook his head.

"I made sure I didn't have anything planned, since I didn't know… how things would turn out."

Meaning he wasn't as positive that her sight would return as he had been telling her he was. She didn't mind, though, because she'd been uncertain enough for all of them.

"Stay and keep me company, then?" she asked.

"Sure."

Like he'd say no to that? Castle relaxed a little more, knowing that she wasn't going to send him packing, and felt her relax as well. His arm around her, he leaned back against the soft cushions of the couch and closed his eyes, enjoying the way she felt against her. She certainly seemed to know what she wanted from him, and he was glad that things hadn't changed so much that she was uncomfortable being in contact with him. He didn't want to give up their relationship if she wasn't going to ask him to. Of course, the really physical side of that relationship hadn't been discussed, but there was time for that, too. Now that she could see again, there seemed to be time for anything and everything. His good arm was around her, holding her against him, and his casted hand tucked safely between his body and the arm of the couch. He found himself so comfortable that he knew he was in danger of falling asleep. And he knew she wouldn't care, which made him relax even further.

After a long moment where he hovered just at the brink of dozing off, her voice gently whispered into his ear.

"Rick?"

"Hmmm?"

"I love you, too."

He smiled, and felt her lips brush against his, soft as a feather. Just like that, life was good. He thought for a moment that he'd wake up and talk to her, but she didn't seem to want him to. He could feel her head on his shoulder, right by his ear, and then her fingers caressed his cheek, his jaw and his forehead. She wanted to touch him, and he could understand that completely. He liked it. He drifted off while she was still sifting her fingers through his hair.


	38. Chapter 38

A thumping noise from somewhere off in the distance drew Castle gently from his nap. He lay still, trying to figure out what the noise was before deciding whether he wanted to wake up or not, and heard other noises his ears told him were coming from the vicinity of the kitchen. At the same time he realized that the smell that was permeating the air around him was the scent of chocolate chip cookies. He felt a moment of concern, but before that concern drove him to his feet he remembered that it was okay that she was in the kitchen and baking. She could see.

He breathed in deeply, enjoying the smell, and opened his eyes, deciding to wake up and see about maybe claiming one or two for himself. Castle sat up – he didn't remember lying down, but he must have done it in his sleep, or she must have pushed him over – and noticed that he'd been covered with the blanket. He looked toward the kitchen just as Beckett looked out, and she smiled at him.

"Hey Sleepy-head."

He rubbed his eyes with his uncasted hand and smiled, too.

"I fell asleep, huh?"

Beckett walked over and he saw that her hair was damp and she wasn't wearing what she'd been wearing earlier. She probably had taken the opportunity to shower – something he knew she missed doing. Baths were all well and good, but nothing was better than a shower for feeling like you were really clean.

"Yeah." She didn't sound at all annoyed, though. "You needed it."

She sat down beside him and he sleepily leaned against her and closed his eyes.

"Yeah," he agreed. "But I'm not much company asleep I imagine."

Beckett chuckled and brushed her fingers against his forehead, pushing his hair back from his forehead. There were a couple of fading bruises there, so she was careful, but she was enjoying the fact that she could touch him if she wanted to.

"I didn't need the company as much as you needed the sleep," she pointed out. "Besides, I spent the morning reacquainting myself with my apartment."

He opened his eyes, and she met his gaze with her own. Her eyes were a little red, still, and swollen, but she'd cleaned the last of the antibiotic cream off when she'd showered and aside from looking a little battered and a bit tired, she looked perfect to him.

"I probably should have vacuumed or something…"

Which earned him a smile.

"It looks great."

"You're a bit biased," he pointed out. "It could be filled with garbage and-"

She interrupted him by leaning in and kissing him, a kiss that was as delicate as butterfly wings against his lips, but enough to leave him breathless all the same. He closed his eyes, and his good hand slid along her thigh automatically, and he felt her tense before she broke the kiss.

"Rick, wait."

"Right. Sorry." Flushed, he tried to gather his thoughts – and put a leash on his hormones. He should have known better than to assume that she was going to be willing to continue with the physical side of their relationship like they had been. He was so dumb – and completely out of line – and he knew it. "I didn't mean-"

She pressed her finger against his lips, easily reading his expression and certain what he was thinking.

"Shhh…" she told him with a smile. "It's not what you think."

"No. I know. I'm sorry. I-"

"Rick. Hush. You didn't do anything wrong, believe me."

The gleam in her eyes told him the truth of that statement and he smiled despite himself.

"Then what-?"

"Our… um… relationship… is a bit one-sided."

"Oh?"

"Yes."

She was blushing a little, and suddenly wouldn't meet his gaze, and he thought that she looked adorable, but he didn't have a clue what she meant. There hadn't been anything one-sided about anything that he could think of.

"What part?"

"Well, remember when we were in the tub and –"

"I remember being in the tub," he told her, grinning.

"Do you remember what we talked about?"

"We talked?"

She slapped his arm, knowing he was messing with her now.

"Do you remember?" She persisted.

"There were a lot of things we talked about," he reminded her. "But I'm assuming you mean the part where you mentioned that it was unfair that I've seen you naked and you haven't seen me naked."

"Right," she agreed. "And you remember what you promised me?"

He had a very good memory; there was no way he could forget. It hadn't been that long ago. The idea was a little scary, but a lot exciting. If that was what she meant, anyway. He figured he'd better be sure.

"That when the bandages came off you could blindfold me and have your way with me?"

Beckett was a brilliant shade of red, now, and he almost felt guilty. She nodded, though, and managed to meet his gaze once more.

"So?"

"Are you asking me to let you blindfold me?"

"Yes."

"And have your way with me?"

"Rick…"

He smiled.

"I'm sorry. I told you that you could, and you can."

She stood up and pulled him to his feet as well, and then led him into the bedroom. He went willingly, but as soon as they passed through the door, she stopped him with a hand on his chest.

"Wait here." She went into her closet and after a moment of searching came back with a black band in her hand.

"You keep a blindfold in your closet?"

She blushed again, but shook her head.

"It's for sleeping during the day. Like when I have a stakeout and I know I'll be up all night." She slipped it over his head and covered his eyes with it, making sure it wasn't too tight, but that it wasn't going to slip. "Comfortable?"

"Yes."

"Good."

She hesitated, looking at him, and then slid her hand along his arm, the sleeve of his shirt silky under her fingers until she reached the beginning of his cast. A glance at it showed that it was covered with peoples' names and she might have looked at it longer, but his hand reached for her.

"Kate?"

"It's okay."

Beckett felt her breath catch in her throat as she stepped up to him, and she knew he held his breath while she unbuttoned his shirt and then pulled it off, leaving his upper body bare. True to his word, he held still, allowing her to do whatever she wanted to. She stepped up him, her hands on his sides, and pressed a kiss against his chest. Castle groaned, letting her know she was doing just fine, and she smiled, pleased with herself and stepped back again. She'd taken his shoes off when he'd fallen asleep on the couch earlier, so it was a simple matter for her to unbutton his pants and slide them off his hips and rear and then simply allow them to fall to the floor. Her eyes went along his body and with him wearing only boxers and a cast, there was no way to hide that he was already aroused.

She took his hand and led him to the bed, guiding him as carefully as he'd been guiding her while she'd been hurt, and stopping him just shy of the edge. Her hands slid along his skin, under his boxers and pulled them down, baring him to her view as she'd been bared to him already.

"I hope that silence isn't disappointment," he murmured, stepping forward and pressing his body against her still dressed one.

She chuckled. Despite not having been able to see him, she knew his body well. They'd been far too intimate for there to be many surprises. She moved into his embrace and pulled his head down so she could claim a kiss.

"Lay back on the bed, Rick," she told him a moment later, once they were both breathless. She stepped back, and started to undress, but her eyes were only on him as she watched him follow her directions.

It was going to be a long evening. But definitely a satisfying one. At least it would if she had anything to say about it.


	39. Chapter 39

Author's note: So I debated… write out a love scene or not. Fanfiction readers have great imaginations and certainly don't need my help deciding how things progressed in a certain scene, after all. But then I decided that since it's rated M why not? That said, this chapter will be a bit graphic. Consider yourselves warned!

OOOOOOOOOOO

It was a decidedly uncomfortable feeling to be stretched out naked on the bed unable to see what was going on around him and uncertain exactly where Beckett was unless she made a noise or said something to him. Of course, she'd been in the same position – figuratively, mostly – since the bomb had gone off, and he could well understand some of what she had been going through during that time. Castle had already known how scary being blindfolded could be and if not for the fact that it was for her, he never would have agreed to what he was doing. And even then he was hard-pressed to keep from lifting the blindfold and peeking so he could see where she was and what was happening.

Luckily for his sanity, he felt the movement on the bed that told him she had joined him, and a hand brushing against his cheek confirmed it.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, her voice a whisper in his ear.

"Yes."

Beckett's hand went along his cheek, to his jaw, then his neck, shoulder chest and stomach.

"You looked almost afraid," she murmured, and he felt her skin against his as she leaned over him to kiss him. It was soft and heated, and Castle forgot all about his uncertainties and fears. His hand went to her breast and he cupped her as she deepened the kiss for a long moment. Her nipple hardened as his thumb teased her, and she chuckled against his lips. Clearly she didn't mind him participating, but he didn't press beyond what he was doing so she'd be able to control the direction and the speed that things went just then.

"I'm not afraid," he whispered when she broke the kiss. "Not of you."

"Good."

She proceeded to explore his body, then, her eyes taking in all of him as her hands followed, touching, caressing and stroking him until he was so aroused that he thought he might explode. Even then she wasn't finished. Flat on his back since she hadn't told him to reposition himself, he'd been caressing her with the hand that didn't have the cast, his hand sliding along her curves, his fingers eliciting a gasp or groan of pleasure whenever he found a particularly sensitive spot. Beckett shifted against him, though, and he suddenly felt her mouth on him, taking him into her in a delightfully new way. One that left him breathless for a long moment.

"Oh, Kate…"

She didn't answer him, but he didn't want her to just then. Not if it meant that she was going to stop what she was doing – and he definitely liked what she was doing! With his hand already on her, though, it wasn't much of a trick for him to pull her over and begin to guide her into position so he could reciprocate. Beckett pulled away, though, keeping her mouth on him but silently telling him that she was the one in charge just then and that she wanted to focus on what she was doing. Castle smiled and gave in, forcing himself to be as still as he could as she had her way with him, but it was harder to do with every motion she made and he was soon writhing under her.

Kate felt him reaching the absolute end of his control and pulled back. Not that she was afraid of what might happen if she didn't, but because she was anxious to have him inside her. She turned and looked down at him, unable to stop and take a moment to admire him splendidly aroused and ready for her.

"You're killing me," he murmured.

Beckett chuckled and straddled him, leaning over to kiss him once more as she felt him enter her with a barely controlled thrust. Her breath caught and she buried her face against his neck as they both found the rhythm they wanted and he held her hips to make sure she didn't pull away any further than was necessary. She climaxed quickly and he wasn't far behind, but the two stayed in the position they were in for a long time as they caught their breath and waited for their bodies to stop twitching.

"Oh…" Kate whispered, satisfied, as she rolled off him and settled in the crook of his arm with a contented sigh." That was nice."

He pulled the blindfold off and tossed it to the side, and then leaned over her, his weight resting on his forearm as he looked down at her.

"Even with the blindfold?"

She smiled, but then her expression turned uncertain.

"Was it weird?"

Castle shook his head.

"It was different. But really exciting."

"Yeah?"

He nodded.

"Are we even, now?"

"I think so."

"Good. Now… can I ask what you were so worried about?"

Beckett should have been surprised but she wasn't. He knew her well; he'd been following her for years, now, after all. She didn't know what she'd done to let it show, but he hadn't missed it, and hadn't been fooled. Which didn't mean she was going to automatically spill her guts.

"I… what do you mean?"

"Kate… did I do something wrong?"

"No." His gaze softened as he looked down at her, and she rolled her eyes, more annoyed with herself than with him. "I was… just a little worried. About you."

"Me?"

"Yeah." He watched her, intently, and she sighed, knowing she wasn't going to be able to side-step it. "I was worried that when I saw your expression for the first time that you'd be gloating… a little. You know, because you and I finally…"

She trailed off, and should have been surprised by his sudden grin. But she wasn't.

"A little? Not a lot?"

Beckett shook her head, suddenly amused.

"No. Not a lot. I could hear your voice, after all. If you were being really smug, you wouldn't have been able to hide it from me – even if I couldn't see you."

"Gloating because I get to see the sexiest detective in New York naked?" he asked, looking down at her body for a long lingering moment before looking back at her eyes.

"Something like that," she replied.

"Because I can finally do this?" he asked her, tilting his head and taking her nipple in his mouth and suckling it.

Beckett sighed in pleasure, running her fingers through his hair.

"Yeah."

He smiled, his attention back on her eyes again.

"Well, I _am_ gloating," he admitted. "Because you're extremely sexy, and I get to be with you." He kissed her. "Did you _watch_ while you were having your way with me? Did you see how exciting it is?"

She smiled.

"I was watching you. Not me. I've _seen_ me naked, remember?"

His expressive eyes changed again, and this time they were smoldering and sexy. There just wasn't another word for it. He kissed her lightly, and then lowered his head once more to tend to her breasts, but this time he made sure there was an angle, so she could see what he was doing as well as feel it.

"_Watch_ this time, Kate," he told her as he switched to the other nipple. "And I won't be embarrassed if _you_ decide to gloat a little, too…"

She started to chuckle, but when his hand moved lower the chuckle turned into a gasp of pleasure and she looked down between them just in time to watch his hand move between her thighs. Entranced, she _did_ watch, and eventually, she joined in, and both of them watched.


	40. Chapter 40

Hunger eventually drove them out of her bed. Castle showered – alone – using another garbage bag from her kitchen to keep his cast dry (and stealing a couple of the freshly baked cookies to munch on). Then he simply slipped on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and made them a meal of soup, sandwiches and salad while Beckett showered as well. They ate sitting at the kitchen table, but took more cookies out to the living room where Castle stretched out with his head in her lap while she propped her bare feet up on her coffee table and flipped through channels on the TV – something she hadn't been able to do recently.

Before he could get too comfortable, his cell rang and even Beckett knew the ring well enough to know that it was the one designated to Alexis. She smiled as he stretched his arm, trying to reach the phone without getting up, and then had to get up anyway when he his awkward cast made him push the thing over the other side of the coffee table. He made a face at her and grinned, and was still smiling when he answered the phone.

From where she was sitting – less than a foot away – there was no way Beckett could miss any of the conversation, which was mostly about her coming home the next day and wanting to be sure that he was going to be there to get them at the airport. He assured her that he couldn't wait, teased her for a few minutes about leaving her on the conveyer belt with her grandmother's luggage and then told her he loved her before he ended the call.

"When are they coming in?" Kate asked as he positioned himself back where he'd been – after stuffing a cookie in his mouth.

"Noon," he mumbled around the cookie. There was no doubt from his expression that he was excited to have Alexis back. And probably his mother, too. "We can all go to lunch."

Beckett shook her head.

"You're going to want to have some time alone with her," she objected. "I'd just be in the way."

"Not at all," he said. "She's going to see my bruises – and the cast – and is going to ask what happened. Then-"

"What are you going to tell her?"

"The truth," Castle replied. "She'd hear about it anyway. Better that she hears it from me while she's looking at me and well able to see that I'm fine."

"All the more reason I shouldn't-"

"And then she's going to ask about you and if you were hurt, and I'll tell her and the next thing you know we're stopping by to make sure you're okay because that's the kind of thing that she does. So if you come with me to pick them up, she'll know that you're safe and healthy and won't have to worry about you."

Beckett hesitated. He certainly made it sound plausible. Of course, he was a writer and adept at telling a story, but eventually she shrugged. She was honest enough to admit that she'd like to have lunch with Alexis and Martha and hear about their trip.

"What are you going to tell them about us?" she asked, realizing that that was something that they'd have to talk about as far as what to tell Ryan and Esposito as well. Lanie already knew, of course, and she wondered if Esposito did as well.

He looked up at her.

"Whatever you want me to."

"We probably couldn't hide much from Alexis," Kate said, more to herself than to him, although he nodded his agreement.

"She's pretty observant."

Beckett shrugged.

"We'll wait and see what comes up, then, I suppose. It's not like we're teenagers or anything. We're consenting adults."

He caught her hand and held it against his cheek for a moment.

"The last thing you should mention to a dad whose daughter has been away with her boyfriend is anything about teenagers and sex," he admonished. "Even if they did have several chaperones."

With a chuckle Kate had to admit that she could see how he wouldn't want to discuss – or even think about that. She brushed her fingers along his cheek, feeling the smoothness of his jaw since he'd apparently shaved while in the shower.

"Sorry."

"You should be," he muttered with an exaggerated shudder, rolling over onto his side, but not moving his head from its comfortable spot on her thigh. "Ewww."

"It's not that bad," Beckett objected. "She's in love with him and he probably loves her, too. I think it's sweet."

"I'm not ready to be a grandfather, Kate," he complained. "They can wait until they're safely married and she's done with school. And she's _thirty_," he added, stubbornly.

"How long did _you_ wait?" she asked, pointedly.

"This isn't about me…" he pulled on the blanket that had been folded and slung over the back of the couch and it fell on him. He grabbed the end and covered his head with it, effectively ending the conversation and Beckett laughed, not at all offended. She didn't have a daughter, but she was sure she'd probably react the same way to conversations about her love life if she did. It was probably the nature of parents to do that.

Instead, she pulled the blanket low enough that he wouldn't suffocate, tucked it around him and picked up the remote again. Castle had already told her that he didn't care what they watched on TV, he just wanted to spend time with her – which was sappy but sweet. She debated a movie, but decided that she was too comfortable to get up and find a DVD to watch, and none of the movie channels had anything that she was interested in watching. Eventually she settled on the news, simply because it had been so long since she'd watched it. She leaned back against the supporting cushion, holding the remote with one hand and using the other to run her fingers along his shoulder and side – and occasionally through his hair. They didn't talk; she knew he was tired and would drift off and nap if she gave him the chance to, and she was preoccupied enough with the fact that she was able to watch TV again that she didn't really need anything more from him than just his company.

Castle was probably as comfortable as he could be. Warmed by Beckett's gentle touch and the blanket that was covering him, secure in the knowledge that his little girl was going to be back with him the next day and would have lots of stories to tell him, he started to relax almost immediately, with the voice of the news anchor lulling him to sleep.

"-Cradle, the Assistant District Attorney's office has decided to charge him with four counts of attempted murder and-"

Castle woke abruptly, his head lifting off Beckett's leg at the snippet of the newscast he heard. She shushed him before he could say anything, and her hand came to rest on the top of his head, pushing him gently back down. He rested his cheek back on her thigh, but now his attention was on the TV as well, and he watched an overly made-up blonde newscaster talk to his partner (an equally overly made-up redhead) about Cradle and what had happened. Of course, they didn't have the full story – that would be held by the DA's office until the trial – but there was enough of it to at least be able to speculate about what would happen and what might have happened had the bomb actually been set off correctly.

"They didn't mention your name," Kate told him, correctly assuming that he'd missed the beginning of the story. "They only mentioned us as 'New York police officers', too."

"That's good," he said, rolling over onto his back, his head still in her lap but now able to look up at her. "If Alexis happens to see that report before she gets home, she won't know it's about us."

Beckett smiled down at him, her fingers tracing his cheek and jaw. She loved the way he was always thinking about how to protect his daughter.

"Right."

"Anything else interesting?" he asked.

"No. I'm going to watch some soap operas instead. My DVR is full."

He groaned, and rolled over onto his side again – but this time it was his other side, turning his back on the TV completely and tucking his head against her hip and the back of the sofa.

There were plenty of things he would have been willing to stay awake for, but at that moment none of them were soap operas. She chuckled and rested her hand on his shoulder once more and picked up the remote.


	41. Chapter 41

"Flight 1462?"

"Right."

"They're arriving now."

It was unnecessary for Beckett to tell him that, because Castle could read, too, and had even more reason to check the status board as quickly as he could than Kate did. He also had more reason to go to the nearest counter that was unoccupied and ask about where the passengers on the plane would be collecting their luggage. The counter person was shocked to have Richard Castle suddenly in front of her but managed to look up the information he was hoping for and direct him to the proper baggage claim. He thanked her with his best smile and then grabbed Beckett's hand and headed the way that he'd been told to go.

"We have lots of time," she protested, even though she didn't pull her hand away and matched his pace easily. He was sore, after all, and wasn't exactly running.

"I know."

They ended up at Baggage claim 8, which was deserted at the moment. Obviously no one else was so eager to meet up with those who were arriving. She let go of his hand and he walked immediately over to the arriving status board and watched it, while Beckett went over and sat on one of the leather seats that lined the nearest wall.

"How long do you think it'll be?" she asked, leaning back a little and closing her eyes. She liked being able to see, but the light was giving her a headache.

"You're supposed to be wearing sunglasses, Kate," he said, close enough to her that she jumped in surprise and opened her eyes again. Sure enough he was standing over her, and he slid her sunglasses out of the pocket of her coat and handed them to her, watching until she put them on. His expression was concerned, and he hovered anxiously as he watched her. "Does it hurt too much? I can take you home – or call Ryan or-"

"I'm okay," she interrupted, taking his good hand. "I should have had the sunglasses on, that's all."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Sit down, though, okay? You're wearing me out just watching you."

She smiled to soften the rebuke, and he sat down beside her, doubly tense now as he was torn between wondering if he shouldn't have encouraged her to go with him and the excitement of knowing Alexis was probably in the airport by now.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not." Beckett squeezed his hand. "It'll be good to see them."

He grinned, now more excited than worried – which was her intention.

"Yeah." Castle started to stand, excitement making him jittery, but he didn't want to let go of her hand and he didn't want to drag her out of her chair. Instead, he looked over at the status board again.

Beckett rolled her eyes, amused. What _was_ he going to do when she went away to school?

"You're sure she and Martha didn't miss the plane?"

His eyes grew worried for just a moment, but then he grinned, realizing that she was messing with him – and that he probably deserved it. He relaxed in his seat and tried to look a little less eager.

"Pretty sure…" he said, casually.

Especially since he'd called to make sure.

She chuckled and leaned slightly against him as they sat and waited, but they didn't have to wait too long before a few others joined them in the baggage area and suddenly a small flood of people started toward them. Some bypassed the baggage claim completely – many of them were people who had only had carry-ons and hadn't checked anything, therefore they didn't need to pick anything up. Others were on their way to a different baggage area, or doing other things. Castle didn't pay attention to any of them. Despite his efforts to act nonchalant, he found himself on his feet once more, this time still holding Kate's hand, since she'd stood up as well. She couldn't see over all the people if she was sitting, after all.

From the sudden squeal down the corridor, Alexis saw her father before he saw her, and the next thing Beckett knew, Castle had released her hand and was hurrying through the crowd. By the time she caught up with him Rick had one arm around his daughter and the other was reaching for his mother to give her a hug as well. As she watched, Alexis suddenly realized that he was bruised, and she pulled back, concerned.

"What happened to you?" she asked, frowning. Then she looked down and noticed his cast, and took hold of it. "What did you do?" Alexis followed her grandmother's gaze to Kate, who stopped beside them. Her bruising was even more noticeable than Castle's, due to her pale complexion. She'd taken off the sunglasses, but that didn't do anything to hide how beat up she looked. "What happened to _you_?"

"It's a long story," Castle told her, smiling reassuringly. "We'll tell you about it over lunch. You hungry?"

Alexis frowned again, but looked back down at his cast.

"Who's Becky?"

"Hot nurse at the hospital," he replied, grinning over at Beckett who rolled her eyes again and then put her sunglasses on. "Mother? Are you hungry?"

"Starving, Richard," Martha told him. "The food on the plane was awful."

"It wasn't that bad," Alexis protested, as Castle put his good arm around her waist once more and guided her back toward the conveyor belt where luggage was just starting to make appearances. "I kind of liked the nuts."

Castle smiled.

"Lunch it is. And I'll even let you choose."

"Italian," Alexis said, instantly.

"Kate?" he asked, looking at her.

Beckett smiled.

"Sounds great."

Castle smiled at her, and completely missed the look that passed between his daughter and his mother when he noticed Alexis' bag coming out of the back. He retrieved the first one, but missed the second when he got his cast tangled up a little in the handle of the bag he'd managed to grab. Alexis was quick to come help and Castle made a show of groaning when he tried to lift the bag, and frowned.

"How much shopping did you do?"

His daughter smiled as she grabbed her other bag and then they watched as Martha and Beckett wrangled her bags, too.

"I brought you back a surprise."

"Oh?"

Which of course drew his attention from how much shopping she'd done.

"Yeah."

"What?"

"It's a surprise."

It was his turn to roll his eyes, but he was still grinning when they loaded up the car's trunk ten minutes later and they headed for their favorite Italian place.


	42. Chapter 42

Richard Castle was a born storyteller, with a natural talent that was honed by years of practicing his trade. With simple words he could evoke outrage, cheerfulness, sympathy and every other emotion that could be put to paper. However, despite that talent, he was fairly succinct when it came to tell Alexis about the attempted car bombing. He didn't lie to her – he never did – but he didn't go into details, either. He told her what she would need to know, and what she would be able to find out if she looked it up, but beyond that, he downplayed the danger as much as he could to keep her from being afraid for him.

Alexis listened to his tale as they waited for their lunch to be brought to them, ignoring her iced tea in favor of casting the occasional look over at Kate.

"You must have been really afraid," she said, sympathetically. "How scary…"

Beckett had let Castle take the lead in the story, knowing that he would be able to judge better than she was how much Alexis should be told, and she'd been impressed by the way he'd described what had happened without making it sound any where near as dangerous as it had been. She nodded, though, when Alexis addressed her.

"It was scary," she admitted. "Especially not knowing how well I'd be able to see once the bandages came off. Your dad took care of me, though, and kept me company."

Martha snorted. She'd already known about the bomb, so she wasn't as affected by the story – although she, too, was impressed by how he'd told the tale.

"Did he tell you about the brilliant idea he had to try out being blind, himself, to research a character he was thinking about making? He stumbled around with a blindfold on for most of a day, tripping over everything in the room and breaking things. Not to mention I'm pretty sure he gave himself a phobi-"

"She knows all about it, Mother," Castle interrupted, winking at Beckett and Alexis good-naturedly. He didn't mind being the butt of a joke – especially if it kept Alexis from being aware of just how close things might have been. "She did a lot better than I did, believe me."

"I'm glad you're better," Alexis told Beckett, sincerely, earning a smile from all three of the adults.

The girl was watching her dad interact with the detective with interest, and making some conclusions of her own that he probably would prefer she didn't mention. She was a keen observer and after living with him for he whole life and watching the way he acted when he was with women who he'd been 'intimate' with as opposed to women who were just his friends there was really no doubt in her mind that something had changed between her dad and Detective Beckett. And almost certainly in ways that he _wasn't_ going to want to discuss with his daughter. Which was just as well since she really didn't want to discuss it with him, either. It was enough for her that he looked happier than he had for a while – even with the bruises and the cast.

"Enough talk about us," Beckett said, cutting into Alexis' musings. "Tell us about your trip."

That was enough to pull Alexis' attention from her dad and Beckett. She grinned –and so did Martha – and the two of them took turns telling them all about the cruise ship first, and how many different places they'd been and how much fun it had been. Kate felt Castle rest his hand on her thigh, but when she looked over at him, his attention was completely on Martha – who was telling them about the entertainers on the ship and about a magic act where the magician had taken Alexis from the audience and used her for a part of his act. He'd heard the story before – during one of the calls from Alexis during the week – and had shared it with her, but it was a lot more entertaining to hear it in person. She rested her hand over his and turned her attention to the story as well.

By the time they'd been told several stories about shipboard life – Alexis' almost always included Ashley – the four were done eating their lunch and simply lingering over their drinks. Castle finally waved for the check and Alexis grinned over at Beckett.

"Are you in a hurry to go home?"

The detective shook her head, curious.

"Not necessarily. Why?"

"Because I brought you back something, but it's in my luggage and I won't be able to get it until I unpack. Come home with us and you can get it."

Before Kate could decide – and she probably would have simply mentioned that she could get the gift (which was really nice of Alexis) another time, Martha spoke up as well.

"You might as well, Detective," she said. "_I_ brought you something, too."

Beckett smiled, and shrugged, looking over at Castle.

"Is it okay with you?"

"Of course."

"Then I accept."

Besides, who didn't like to get presents?

OOOOOOOOOOO

Castle went with Alexis to her room to unpack, mainly because he still wasn't ready to leave her alone after having her gone for so long. While Martha chatted amicably with Beckett as they brewed a fresh pot of coffee, he helped her carry her luggage to her room and tossed the biggest one on her bed so she would have easy access to it.

"So did you miss me?" Alexis asked him, sitting on the bed beside her bag and smiling up at him.

"Every minute," he admitted.

Her smile only grew, which made him feel warm and fuzzy, and she dug into her suitcase and came up with a brightly colored shirt – a classic Hawaiian shirt with splashes of blue and white flowers and waves – and handed it over to him.

"For you."

He grinned and held it up, admiring the colors and trying to think when he was going to possibly be able to wear it anywhere. It didn't matter, though, it was like Beckett's umbrella from her dad. It was a present from his favorite person in the world and the thought was all that counted. Besides, it wasn't horrendous or anything; he could wear it on vacation somewhere.

"Thank you, Daughter."

"You're welcome." Alexis looked pleased that he liked the short, and she leaned forward, conspiratorially. "Grandma brought you home some booze – don't tell her I told you."

"I'll act surprised," he promised.

"Good." She pulled a package out of the bag that was wrapped carefully with brown paper and got up. "Come on."

She was clearly excited about her present, and Castle nodded his agreement and got to his feet as well.

"What did you get her?"

She gave him a sly smile.

"It's a secret."

"But-"

She ignored him and turned and headed out the room, with Castle following, still holding his new shirt.


	43. Chapter 43

Almost immediately after Alexis vanished up the stairs with her father right behind her, Martha turned and looked at Beckett, who was lounging against the breakfast bar in the kitchen.

"How are you doing?" Martha asked. "Are you _really_ okay?"

Kate could tell that she really was concerned and interested, and it made her feel warm and fuzzy to know that she was cared about. She smiled.

"I'm a lot better now that the bandages are off and I found out that all the people trying to reassure me that everything was going to be okay were right."

"So your eyes are going to be alright? No lasting effects?"

"They're a little sore, and bright lights hurt a bit still," Beckett admitted. "But my doctor said that was normal and should get better in a little while. Until then, I just wear sunglasses when I feel a headache starting."

"What a relief."

"Yeah. I'm sure I drove Castle crazy – but he's too nice to admit it."

"He was worried about you," Martha told her. "I could hear it in his voice whenever we spoke." She scowled. "He didn't mention that _he'd_ been hurt, too, though. Or that he broke his arm…"

"He probably didn't want you two rushing home and cutting your trip short. You did have a good time, right? You weren't just saying that?"

The older woman smiled, and waved her hand dismissively.

"Oh, no, I had a wonderful time. I should go on a cruise more often. I forgot how much fun it is to have the ship's crew taking care of your every need and want. And the shopping! It felt like we stopped at every little island between Miami and Jamaica – and even though Alexis is young enough to want to just spend her free time with her boyfriend and his folks, I dragged her to a few places and managed to help her buy all sorts of interesting things. She wanted to buy her dad a shrunken head, but I told her that he probably already had one and we just didn't know about it yet."

Kate smiled at that.

"Probably."

"It was fun spending so much time with her before she leaves for school," Martha said, with just a hint of sorrow at that thought – and Beckett already knew how Castle felt about it. "We picked up a ton of souvenirs for pretty much everyone we know."

"Speaking of which…" came a masculine voice from above them, causing both to look up and see that Castle and Alexis had both returned and were heading down the stairs. "Look what _I_ got."

He walked over and held up his new shirt and despite the loud color scheme, Beckett had a feeling that the blue would really bring out the color of his eyes if he wore it. Behind him Alexis was smiling broadly, clearly pleased by the fact that he was so proud of his present. She was also carrying a package in her arm that she handed over to Kate as soon as she got close enough to.

"I got _this_ for you," she told the detective. "I hope you like it."

Beckett opened the paper and found that it wasn't just one present, it was two. The first was a wrap, made of a light gauzy material that would make it perfect for summer weather. It was green and white and Kate was delighted.

"Grams said it would fit," Alexis said, looking slightly uncertain, as if she wasn't sure Beckett would like it. "It's supposed to be loose, so if it is too big it-"

"I love it," Kate interrupted, feeling warm and gooey once more. "It's beautiful and if it's too big then it'll make a good swimsuit wrap or something. Thank you very much."

The girl smiled, pleased.

"There's more…" she pointed out, gesturing to the smaller wrapped package that the wrap had been folded around.

Beckett unwrapped it and found a small wooden box. Ornately decorated with shells and beads, it opened on top and had a small drawer in the front. It was obviously designed as a jewelry box, but when Beckett opened the small drawer, she found that it was filled with shells.

"Ashley and I found them on the beach," Alexis said. "We split them between your box and the one he got for his mom. Do you like it?"

"I love it," Kate told her, sincerely. "Thank you very much."

Surprising her, Alexis gave her a quick hug, and Castle beamed with cheerfulness at the indication that his daughter obviously liked her as much as he did.

"Why didn't I get any shells?" he asked, feigning a hurt look.

"I got you shells," Martha told him. "Or a very nice bottle of rum. You choose."

He grinned.

"I'll take the rum."

"I thought you might."

The phone rang and Alexis went off to answer it, while Martha headed for her room to go find his bottle, and Castle looked over at Kate.

"She likes you better than me. I only got _one_ present."

Beckett smiled.

"She probably didn't think you'd look good in the wrap."

He rolled his eyes, but before he could reply to that, Alexis was back, the phone in her hand and looking excited.

"Can I go to Sarah's?"

He looked surprised.

"Now?"

She nodded.

"Everyone's there. I can give them all their presents."

"But…" he looked stricken, but Alexis didn't notice in her enthusiasm.

"I won't be gone long. Ashley might show up, too."

Beckett slid her hand along his back, hiding the gesture with his body, but he felt it and glanced over at her. She nodded, slightly, giving him a sympathetic look. He sighed, and nodded, too, looking back at his daughter.

"Don't be gone too long."

"Her mom wants to know if I can stay for dinner?"

"Will she bring you home?"

"Her dad will."

"Okay. Be home by ten."

She squealed and hurried out of the room, the phone at her ear again, and almost ran over her grandmother, who moved out of her way and looked back at her for a moment as she entered the room.

"What was that all about?"

"She's going to Sarah's."

"Really?"

"Ashley might show up."

"Ah. Well, I have gifts to deliver, so I'll drop her off."

"You're leaving, too?"

Martha looked surprised by the question, and handed him the bottle in her hand and gave Beckett a wrapped package, as well.

"Did you need me to stay?"

"Well…"

"Really, Richard. Detective Beckett can keep you company just fine – I'm surprised you're not shooing us out the door." She looked at Kate. "You'll keep him from being lonely, right?"

Amused, Beckett nodded.

"Sure."

"See?" she smiled, and gestured to the package she'd handed the detective. "If you don't like that, I brought your friends bottles, so you can switch them out and none the wiser."

"Thank you, Martha."

"You're welcome. Richard, your other present is in there, too."

And with that, she left the room, gathered up Alexis and less than ten minutes later, the two were alone again.


	44. Chapter 44

Castle sighed as soon as the door closed behind him, and flopped down into the sofa.

"And so it begins," he murmured.

"What's that?" Kate asked, sitting beside him, with the package still unopened in her hand.

"They're abandoning me already."

"They're excited to be home and anxious to give out gifts," Beckett told him with a smile. "You're not being abandoned."

"It feels like it."

"You're just being sensitive because they've been gone so long. It was obvious that they were really happy to see you."

He smiled at that.

"That's true."

"And they _did_ bring you presents – _and_ you got yours first…"

He looked at the wrapped package in her hand, and she could see that his mood was lifting at the thought of yet another gift.

"That's true, too, I suppose. What is it?"

"It's not a piano."

He snorted.

"Were you hoping for one?"

"Not really."

Castle reached for the package, but Beckett pulled it out of his reach.

"Your mom handed it to me," she reminded him. "That makes it mine."

"But she said mine was in there, too," he pointed out, still trying to get the package out of her hand – but Beckett was holding it out of his reach with an impish grin.

"Patience, Rick," she said. "I get to open it, since Martha gave it to _me_."

He rolled his eyes, but rested his chin on her shoulder and dropped his hand.

"Open it, then."

She did what he told her, and found a necklace made of a hemp cord and more shells – these small and incredibly delicate looking. And – considering it was almost certainly made for tourists – very tasteful. Something that would actually look good with the wrap Alexis had given her – which had probably been Martha's intention. The woman did have excellent taste, after all.

"That's pretty," Castle said, his head still on her shoulder, but his attention on the present.

"Yeah." She held it up with a smile, and handed him the little blue velvet bag that had accompanied her gift. It had to be his present.

He opened it and grinned when he tipped it and his present fell out. It, too, was a necklace, but where hers was covered in little shells, his was a black thong – probably hemp, as well – and a single tooth, flanked by a couple of small black beads.

"It's a shark tooth," he told her, clearly pleased by the present.

"How do you know?" she asked, curiously. Of course, he knew a lot about pretty much everything – in the name of research, he snooped into everything – but she knew he'd never written a book with any kind of shark reference. At least not one that she'd ever read.

"Because I had one when I was a kid," he replied, trying to open the clasp, but having trouble with it because of his cast. "Mother was doing some movie or the other – on location on one of those tiny little Pacific islands – and for once she brought me along. I was on the beach one day and found a tooth. One of the locals told mother it was a Great White tooth, and she had them put it on a necklace for me. It was one of the neatest things I'd ever owned and I wore it all the time."

Kate smiled.

"How old were you?"

"Eight or nine."

"What happened to it?"

He sighed, his eyes still on the necklace.

"It vanished with one of Mother's boyfriends. She was pretty miserable and I didn't want to make it worse, so I didn't tell her."

"She found out eventually?"

"She must have," he conceded. "But not from me."

Beckett took it from him and opened the clasp, then turned and put it on his neck.

"It looks great."

He grinned, tilting his head and trying to admire it.

"Yeah."

"You made out pretty well," she told him. "A shirt, some bling and some booze."

He leaned back into the sofa and pulled her against him with a satisfied noise.

"I'm not sure that a shark tooth actually qualifies as _bling_," he said. "But yeah, I did pretty good, didn't I?"

"Mmm-hmmm." Of course, _she'd_ done okay, too. Better, really, than he had, since he'd paid for the two of them to go on their cruise in the first place and Beckett hadn't. She leaned against his side, content to just be with him with no real concerns just then. It was rather relaxing, really. "What do you want to do today?"

He leered at her, and she rolled her eyes, knowing he was teasing her. He chuckled and pressed his cheek against hers.

"We could see if Lanie and the guys are busy and go do something with them."

"They won't be off, yet."

"Esposito is still out on medical, though, right?"

"He's hanging with Lanie."

"While she's working?"

"Yes."

"Isn't he in the way?"

"It never stopped _you_."

He grinned and rolled his eyes, chuckling.

"Just for that you get to watch old movies with me all afternoon."

Beckett smiled, and relaxed against him as he reached for the remote with his good hand.

"I can live with that."

There were worse ways to pass the day, after all.


	45. Chapter 45

**_Epilogue_**

Castle frowned as he walked over to stand beside Beckett, the weak late fall sun still managing to warm him through his light jacket.

"Why does _this_ look familiar?"

Beckett gave a tight smile as she took the coffee cup Castle handed her but her eyes never went from the scene in front of them.

"It's not _exactly_ the same," she told him, automatically visually checking for any signs that someone might be alive, even though the uniformed officers who had first arrived on the scene had already done so.

"It's pretty close."

It _was_ pretty close she had to agree. A dead body, and a car covering more than half of it. There were noticeable differences, though. The first being that there was a lot of blood and the body was mostly dressed. The dent on the hood and bumper of the car showed clear signs that there had been some kind of impact, and that was pretty hard to fake. The second was that the hand of the dead man was still holding the gun he'd been shooting, and the shattered front windshield of the car was mute testimony of where he'd been aiming before the driver of the car had run him down.

Before she could say anything, Ryan joined the two of them, frowning.

"Lanie's on her way… does this look familiar to anyone else?"

"I was just saying that," Castle told him.

"It's _creepy_."

"It's a double homicide," Beckett corrected. "Is Esposito canvassing?"

"Yeah. So far everyone is saying what we already know; dead guy in the street was shooting at dead guy in the car right up until dead guy in the car ran him down."

"Of course, he might have already been dead," Castle pointed out. "So we don't know if he was fighting back or trying to get away…"

The body that was slumped over the steering wheel of the car was proof that the driver of the car hadn't been any more bulletproof than his windshield.

"Lanie will probably be able to tell us that," Ryan said, shrugging.

"Probably," Castle agreed. He changed the subject then, as Esposito came over – arriving at the same time Lanie did. "What are you guys doing Friday night?"

They all – including Beckett – shrugged.

"Why do you ask?" Lanie asked him, curiously.

"Because I've been instructed to invite you over for dinner."

"Instructed?" Esposito echoed.

"By Alexis," he confirmed. He looked over at Ryan. "This includes Jenny," he added. "She is going to make us dinner – a recipe she and Ashley learned from one of the chefs on the cruise ship. A celebration for me getting my cast off."

They all automatically glanced down at his wrist, which was now free of the cast that had been protecting it for the last few weeks.

"Can she cook?" Ryan asked, looking up.

"Not as far as I know," Castle admitted. "I don't think so, but she surprises me all the time, so you never know. Besides, we'll break open the rum Mother brought back, so if it's too terrible, we'll drown it in alcohol."

Esposito looked over at Lanie, who nodded, looking pleased at the invitation.

"We'll be there," he said for both of them. "What time?"

"I'll let you know."

"I'll ask Jenny," Ryan said, shrugging. "I don't think we have any plans, though. Sounds like fun."

"Can I go look at my dead bodies now?" Lanie asked, aware that this wasn't really the time to be discussing dinner plans.

Castle nodded and gestured for her to precede them. She did just that, leading the way over to the shot up car, while Esposito and Ryan dispersed back into the crowd to finish their canvassing. Rick tapped Beckett's arm, and she stopped.

"_You're_ coming, right?"

Just because the two of them saw each other far more than they used to, he wasn't going to make any assumptions that she was free. He had learned a couple of things being married, after all. Just not how to _stay_ married.

"Sure. Maybe I'll wear my new wrap."

He grinned at that, and she walked over to talk to Lanie, switching back over to Detective mode. Castle was pleased at how easily everyone seemed to adjust to the change in his and Beckett's relationship. Of course, they weren't ducking into the closets at the precinct to have a quickie, but her eyes softened every so often when she looked at him, now – which turned him into jelly inside – and her expression wasn't quite as annoyed when he turned up at a crime scene as it once had been.

It probably helped that both Ryan and Esposito were in relationships, too, now, and they didn't necessarily have time to decide if they approved or disapproved of the match between Castle and Beckett since they were trying to figure out their own feelings and futures. It didn't hurt that they liked him, though, and they knew Beckett well enough to see that she was enjoying the relationship – or was at least comfortable with it. Like any brothers – and they certainly were that to her – they wanted her safe and happy more than anything.

"We could make it into a Hawaiian theme," he suggested, grinning, as they both turned toward the scene as well.

"More like Jamaican," Kate told him.

"Same thing – without dread locks."

"Whatever you want to do, Castle."

"Sweet."

He left it at that for the moment, switching over to writer/ detective mode, now, as he listened to Lanie describe to Beckett what she was learning. Things were good. Home was good, writing was even easier than ever and he was definitely in love – and even better, despite the fact that they carefully avoided any kind of reference to long-term commitments, he was pretty sure that she loved him, too.

What else could he need? At least for now?

**_The End_**

OOOOOOOOOOOO

_Thanks for reading everyone. I'm truly sorry that the postings were so sporadic. I hate that in other writers, and especially when it's me. But sometimes real life just doesn't allow as much time. I did like writing this, though, and I hope you liked it._


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